Semiconductor device, display device, and semiconductor device manufacturing method

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device includes a thin-film transistor ( 101 ), a terminal portion ( 102 ), an interlevel insulating layer ( 14 ) including a first insulating layer ( 12 ) which contacts with the surface of a drain electrode ( 11   d ), and a first transparent conductive layer ( 15 ), a first dielectric layer ( 17 ) and a second transparent conductive layer ( 19   a ) formed on the interlevel insulating layer ( 14 ). The terminal portion ( 102 ) includes a lower conductive layer ( 3   t ), a second semiconductor layer ( 7   t ) arranged on a gate insulating layer ( 5 ), and lower and upper transparent connecting layers ( 15   t,    19   t ). The gate insulating layer ( 5 ) and the second semiconductor layer ( 7   t ) have a contact hole (CH 2 ), and their side surfaces located on a side of the contact hole (CH 2 ) are aligned with each other. The lower transparent connecting layer ( 15   t ) contacts with the lower conductive layer ( 3   t ) in the contact hole (CH 2 ). And the upper transparent connecting layer ( 19   t ) contacts with the lower transparent connecting layer ( 15   t ) at the bottom and on the sidewall of the contact hole (CH 2 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and displaydevice including a thin-film transistor, and also relates to a methodfor fabricating a semiconductor device including a thin-film transistor.

BACKGROUND ART

An active-matrix-addressed liquid crystal display device generallyincludes a substrate on which thin-film transistors (which will also bereferred to herein as “TFTs”) are provided as switching elements forrespective pixels (such a substrate will be referred to herein as a “TFTsubstrate”), a counter substrate on which a counter electrode, colorfilters and other members are arranged, a liquid crystal layer which isinterposed between the TFT substrate and the counter substrate, and apair of electrodes to apply a voltage to the liquid crystal layer.

On the TFT substrate, formed are a plurality of source lines, aplurality of gate lines, a plurality of TFTs arranged at theirintersections, pixel electrodes to apply a voltage to a light modulatinglayer such as a liquid crystal layer, storage capacitor lines, storagecapacitor electrodes and other components. At an end of the TFTsubstrate, provided is a terminal portion to connect those source linesand gate lines to respective input terminals of a driver circuit, whichmay be arranged on either the TFT substrate or on another substrateseparately (such as a circuit board).

Various modes of operation have been proposed and adopted foractive-matrix-addressed liquid crystal display devices according totheir intended application. Examples of those modes of operation includea TN (Twisted Nematic) mode, a VA (Vertical Alignment) mode, an IPS(In-Plane-Switching) mode and an FFS (Fringe Field Switching) mode.

Among these modes, the TN and VA modes are longitudinal electric fieldmodes in which a pair of electrodes that face each other with a liquidcrystal layer interposed between them apply an electric field to liquidcrystal molecules. On the other hand, the IPS and FFS modes are lateralelectric field modes in which a pair of electrodes is provided for onesubstrate to apply an electric field to liquid crystal moleculesparallel to the surface of the substrate (i.e., laterally). According tothe lateral electric field method, liquid crystal molecules do not risewith respect to the substrate, and therefore, a wider viewing angle canbe achieved than in the longitudinal electric field method, which isbeneficial.

Among various modes of operation by the lateral electric field method,in an IPS mode liquid crystal display device, a pair of comb electrodesis formed on a TFT substrate by patterning a metal film, and therefore,the transmittance and aperture ratio will decrease, which is a problem.On the other hand, in an FFS mode liquid crystal display device, theelectrodes to be formed on the TFT substrate are transparent, andtherefore, the aperture ratio and transmittance can be increased.

FFS mode liquid crystal display devices are disclosed in PatentDocuments Nos. 1 and 2, for example.

On the TFT substrate of these display devices, a common electrode and apixel electrode are arranged over each TFT with an insulating filminterposed between them. Among these electrodes, a hole is cut as a slitthrough the electrode which is located closer to the liquid crystallayer (e.g., the pixel electrode). As a result, generated is an electricfield which is represented by electric lines of force that are emittedfrom the pixel electrode, pass through the liquid crystal layer and theslit hole, and then reach the common electrode. This electric field hasa lateral component with respect to the liquid crystal layer.Consequently, a lateral electric field can be applied to the liquidcrystal layer.

Recently, people have proposed that an oxide semiconductor be used as amaterial for the active layer of a TFT instead of a siliconsemiconductor. Such a TFT will be referred to herein as an “oxidesemiconductor TFT”. Since an oxide semiconductor has higher mobilitythan amorphous silicon, the oxide semiconductor TFT can operate athigher speeds than an amorphous silicon TFT. For example, PatentDocument No. 3 discloses an active-matrix-addressed liquid crystaldisplay device which uses an oxide semiconductor TFT as a switchingelement.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   -   Patent Document No. 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.        2008-32899    -   Patent Document No. 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.        2002-182230    -   Patent Document No. 3: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.        2010-230744

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In a TFT substrate including electrodes which are stacked in two layersover each TFT as in a TFT substrate for use in an FFS mode liquidcrystal display device, if each of those electrodes in two layers isformed out of a transparent conductive film, the aperture ratio andtransmittance can be increased compared to a TFT substrate for use in anIPS mode liquid crystal display device, as described above. In addition,by using an oxide semiconductor TFT, the size of each transistor sectionon the TFT substrate can be reduced, and therefore, the transmittancecan be further increased.

However, as the applications of liquid crystal display devices havebecome even broader these days and as there are growing demands forhigh-spec liquid crystal display devices, such liquid crystal displaydevices should have an even higher degree of reliability. As one ofmeasures to achieve this object, respective terminals to be formed in aterminal portion for the TFT substrate should have their reliability(i.e., weather resistance) increased. None of Patent Documents Nos. 1 to3 cited above proposes any specific terminal structure.

The present inventors perfected our invention in order to overcome theseproblems by further increasing the reliability of a semiconductor devicesuch as a TFT substrate or a display device that uses such asemiconductor device.

Solution to Problem

A semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention includes a substrate and a thin-film transistor, a gate linelayer, a source line layer and a terminal portion supported on thesubstrate. The gate line layer includes a gate line, a gate electrodefor the thin-film transistor, and a lower conductive layer for theterminal portion. The source line layer includes a source line andsource and drain electrodes for the thin-film transistor. The thin-filmtransistor includes the gate electrode, a gate insulating layer formedon the gate electrode, a first semiconductor layer which is formed onthe gate insulating layer and includes an oxide semiconductor, aprotective layer which covers at least a channel region of the firstsemiconductor layer, the source electrode, and the drain electrode. Thesemiconductor device further includes: an interlevel insulating layerformed on the source and drain electrodes and which includes a firstinsulating layer that contacts with at least a surface of the drainelectrode; a first transparent conductive layer formed on the interlevelinsulating layer; a first dielectric layer formed on the firsttransparent conductive layer; and a second transparent conductive layerformed on the first dielectric layer so as to overlap with at least aportion of the first transparent conductive layer with the firstdielectric layer interposed between them. The terminal portion includes:the lower conductive layer; the gate insulating layer extended onto thelower conductive layer; a second semiconductor layer arranged on thegate insulating layer and formed out of the same semiconductor film asthe first semiconductor layer; a lower transparent connecting layerwhich has been formed out of the same conductive film as the firsttransparent conductive layer; and an upper transparent connecting layerarranged on the lower transparent connecting layer and formed out of thesame conductive film as the second transparent conductive layer. Thegate insulating layer and the second semiconductor layer have a contacthole. The side surfaces of the gate insulating layer and the secondsemiconductor layer which locate on a side of the contact hole arealigned with each other. The lower transparent connecting layer has beenformed inside the contact hole and on the second semiconductor layer andcontacts with the lower conductive layer in the contact hole. And theupper transparent connecting layer contacts with the lower transparentconnecting layer at the bottom and on the sidewall of the contact hole.

In one embodiment, the side surface of the lower transparent connectinglayer is aligned with another side surface of the second semiconductorlayer on an opposite side of the contact hole.

In one embodiment, an end portion of the upper transparent connectinglayer is located on the lower transparent connecting layer.

In one embodiment, the upper transparent connecting layer covers anotherside surface of the second semiconductor layer on an opposite side ofthe contact hole.

In one embodiment, the semiconductor device further includes a seconddielectric layer between the upper and lower transparent connectinglayers, the second dielectric layer being formed out of the samedielectric film as the first dielectric layer.

In one embodiment, the second dielectric layer covers another sidesurface of the semiconductor layer on an opposite side of the contacthole.

A display device according to an embodiment of the present inventionincludes: a semiconductor device according to any of the embodimentsdescribed above; a counter substrate arranged so as to face thesemiconductor device; and a liquid crystal layer interposed between thecounter substrate and the semiconductor device. The display deviceincludes a plurality of pixels which are arranged in a matrix pattern.And the second transparent conductive layer is divided into multipleportions which are allocated to the respective pixels and which functionas pixel electrodes.

In one embodiment, the second transparent conductive layer has aplurality of slit holes in each pixel, and the first transparentconductive layer is located at least under the plurality of holes andfunctions as a common electrode.

A semiconductor device fabricating method according to an embodiment ofthe present invention is a method for fabricating a semiconductor deviceincluding a thin-film transistor and a terminal portion. The methodincludes the steps of: (a) forming a lower conductive layer and a gateline layer including a gate line and gate electrode on a substrate; (b)forming a gate insulating layer to cover the gate line layer; (c)forming an oxide semiconductor film on the gate insulating layer andpatterning the oxide semiconductor film, thereby forming a firstsemiconductor layer, at least a part of which overlaps with the gateelectrode, and a second semiconductor layer which has a first hole overthe lower conductive layer; (d) forming a protective layer to cover atleast a portion of the first semiconductor layer to be a channel regionand the upper surface of the second semiconductor layer; (e) forming aconductive film over a surface of the substrate having the protectivelayer formed thereon and patterning the conductive film, thereby forminga source line layer including source and drain electrodes that contactwith the first semiconductor layer; (f) forming a first insulating filmon the surface of the substrate having the source line layer formedthereon and etching the first insulating film, the gate insulating layerand the protective layer simultaneously, the step (f) including removinga portion of the protective layer located on the second semiconductorlayer and removing the first insulating film and the gate insulatinglayer using the second semiconductor layer as an etching mask to exposethe lower conductive layer, thereby forming a contact hole in the secondsemiconductor layer and the gate insulating layer; (g) forming a lowertransparent connecting layer inside the contact hole and on the secondsemiconductor layer so that the lower transparent connecting layercontacts with the lower conductive layer inside the contact hole; and(h) forming an upper transparent connecting layer on the lowertransparent connecting layer so that the upper transparent connectinglayer contacts with the lower transparent connecting layer at the bottomand on the side surface of the contact hole.

In one embodiment, the step (g) includes the steps of forming atransparent conductive film inside the contact hole and on the secondsemiconductor layer and etching the transparent conductive film and thesecond semiconductor layer simultaneously.

In one embodiment, the method further includes, between the steps (g)and (f), the step of forming a dielectric layer on a portion of thelower transparent conductive layer. In the step (f), the uppertransparent connecting layer is formed so as to contact with the lowertransparent conductive layer and the dielectric layer.

A semiconductor device according to another embodiment of the presentinvention includes a substrate and a terminal portion supported on thesubstrate. The terminal portion includes: a lower conductive layerformed on the substrate; an insulating layer which covers the lowerconductive layer; a semiconductor layer which is formed on theinsulating layer and which includes an oxide semiconductor; a lowertransparent connecting layer; and an upper transparent connecting layerarranged as a transparent layer on the lower transparent connectinglayer. The insulating layer and the semiconductor layer have a contacthole. The respective side surfaces of the insulating layer and thesemiconductor layer which locate on a side of the contact hole arealigned with each other. The lower transparent connecting layer isformed inside the contact hole and on the semiconductor layer andcontacts with the lower conductive layer inside the contact hole. Andthe upper transparent connecting layer contacts with the lowertransparent connecting layer at the bottom and on the sidewall of thecontact hole.

In one embodiment, the oxide semiconductor includes an In—Ga—Zn—O-basedsemiconductor.

A semiconductor device fabricating method according to anotherembodiment of the present invention is a method for fabricating asemiconductor device including a terminal portion. The method includesthe steps of: (A) forming a lower conductive layer on a substrate; (B)forming an insulating layer to cover the lower conductive layer; (C)forming, on the insulating layer, a semiconductor layer which has afirst hole over the lower conductive layer and which includes an oxidesemiconductor; (D) forming a protective layer which covers thesemiconductor layer; (E) forming a first insulating film on theprotective layer and inside the first hole; (F) etching the firstinsulating film, the insulating layer and the protective layersimultaneously, the step (F) including exposing a part of the lowerconductive layer by removing the protective layer and removing the firstinsulating film and the insulating layer using the semiconductor layeras an etching mask, thereby forming a contact hole in the insulatinglayer and the semiconductor layer; (G) forming a lower transparentconnecting layer inside the contact hole and on the semiconductor layerso that the lower transparent connecting layer contacts with the lowerconductive layer inside the contact hole; and (H) forming an uppertransparent connecting layer on the lower transparent connecting layerso that the upper transparent connecting layer contacts with the lowertransparent connecting layer at the bottom and on the side surface ofthe contact hole.

In one embodiment, the oxide semiconductor includes an In—Ga—Zn—O-basedsemiconductor.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

In an embodiment of the present invention, in a semiconductor deviceincluding a TFT, a first transparent conductive layer which has beenformed on the TFT and a second transparent conductive layer which hasbeen formed on the first transparent conductive layer with a dielectriclayer interposed between them, terminals with a redundant structure areformed by using the first and second transparent conductive layers. As aresult, the reliability of the terminal portion can be increased.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, asemiconductor device with such a terminal portion can be fabricatedefficiently enough without increasing the number of masks to use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 Schematically illustrates an exemplary planar structure for asemiconductor device (TFT substrate) 100 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 2 (a) and (b) are respectively a plan view and a cross-sectionalview illustrating a terminal portion 102 which has been formed in theperipheral area of a TFT substrate according to a first embodiment ofthe present invention and (c) is a cross-sectional view illustratinganother exemplary terminal portion 102.

FIGS. 3 (a) and (b) are respectively a plan view and a cross-sectionalview illustrating a TFT 101 and contact portion 105(1) according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 4 (a) and (b) are respectively a plan view and a cross-sectionalview illustrating another exemplary contact portion 105(2) according tothe first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A A plan view illustrating still another exemplary contact portion105(3) according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B A cross-sectional view illustrating still another exemplarycontact portion 105(3) according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6A A plan view illustrating a portion of an S-G connecting portionforming region 103R according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6B A cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of the S-Gconnecting portion forming region 103R according to the first embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 7 Illustrates an exemplary liquid crystal display device 1000according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 Shows the flow of the manufacturing process of the semiconductordevice 100.

FIG. 9A (a) to (c) are plan views illustrating respective manufacturingprocess steps to fabricate the semiconductor device according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9B (a) to (c) are cross-sectional views illustrating respectivemanufacturing process steps to fabricate the semiconductor deviceaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10A (d) to (f) are plan views illustrating respective manufacturingprocess steps to fabricate the semiconductor device according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10B (d) to (f) are cross-sectional views illustrating respectivemanufacturing process steps to fabricate the semiconductor deviceaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11A (g) and (h) are plan views illustrating respectivemanufacturing process steps to fabricate the semiconductor deviceaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 11B (g) and (h) are cross-sectional views illustrating respectivemanufacturing process steps to fabricate the semiconductor deviceaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 (a) to (e) are cross-sectional views illustrating respectivemanufacturing process steps to fabricate a semiconductor deviceaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 (f) to (i) are cross-sectional views illustrating respectivemanufacturing process steps to fabricate the semiconductor deviceaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 (j) to (m) are cross-sectional views illustrating respectivemanufacturing process steps to fabricate the semiconductor deviceaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 (n) to (p) are cross-sectional views illustrating respectivemanufacturing process steps to fabricate the semiconductor deviceaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 16 (a) and (b) are respectively a plan view and a cross-sectionalview illustrating a terminal portion 202 which has been formed in theperipheral area of a TFT substrate according to a third embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 17 (a) and (b) are cross-sectional views illustrating respectivemanufacturing process steps to fabricate the semiconductor deviceaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 (a) to (c) are cross-sectional views illustrating respectivemanufacturing process steps to fabricate a semiconductor deviceaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of a semiconductor device, display device andmethod for fabricating a semiconductor device according to the presentinvention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.It should be noted, however, that the present invention is in no waylimited to the illustrative embodiments to be described below.

Embodiment 1

A first embodiment of a semiconductor device according to the presentinvention is a TFT substrate for use in an active-matrix-addressedliquid crystal display device. In the following description, a TFTsubstrate for use in an FFS mode display device will be described as anexample. It should be noted that a semiconductor device according tothis embodiment just needs to include a TFT and two transparentconductive layers on a substrate, and therefore, may also be implementedas a TFT substrate for use in a liquid crystal display device operatingin any other mode or various kinds of display devices and electronicdevices other than a liquid crystal display device.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an exemplary planar structure for asemiconductor device (TFT substrate) 100 according to this embodiment.This semiconductor device 100 includes a display area (active area) 120which contributes to a display operation and a peripheral area (framearea) 110 which is located outside of the active area 120.

In the display area 120, a plurality of gate lines G and a plurality ofsource lines S have been formed, and each region surrounded with theselines defines a “pixel”. As shown in FIG. 1, those pixels are arrangedin a matrix pattern. A pixel electrode (not shown) has been formed ineach pixel. Although not shown, in each pixel, a thin-film transistor(TFT) has been formed as an active element in the vicinity of eachintersection between the source lines S and the gate lines G. Each TFTis electrically connected to its associated pixel electrode via acontact portion. In this description, a region where a TFT and a contactportion are formed will be referred to herein as a “transistor formingregion 101R”. In addition, according to this embodiment, a commonelectrode (not shown) is arranged under each pixel electrode so as toface the pixel electrode with a dielectric layer (insulating layer)interposed between them. A common signal (which will be referred toherein as a “COM signal”) is applied to the common electrode.

In the peripheral area 110, terminal portions 102, each of whichelectrically connects either a gate line G or a source line S to anexternal line, have been formed. Optionally, an S-G connecting portion103 (i.e., a portion to change connections from a source line S to agate line G) to be connected to a connector line which has been formedout of the same conductive film as the gate line G may be providedbetween each source line S and its associated terminal portion 102. Inthat case, the connector line is connected to the external line in theterminal portion 102. In this description, a region where a plurality ofterminal portions 102 are formed will be referred to herein as a“terminal portion forming region 102R” and a region where the S-Gconnecting portion 103 is formed will be referred to herein as an “S-Gconnecting portion forming region 103R”.

Also, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, further formed in theperipheral area 110 are COM signal lines S_(COM) and G_(COM) to apply aCOM signal to the common electrode, COM-G connecting portions (notshown) to connect the COM signal lines G_(COM) to the common electrode,and COM-S connecting portions (not shown) to connect the COM signallines S_(COM) to the common electrode. Even though the COM signal linesSam and G_(COM) are arranged in this example in a ring pattern so as tosurround the display area 120, the planar shapes of the COM signal linesS_(COM) and G_(COM) are not particularly limited.

In this example, the COM signal lines S_(COM) which run parallel to thesource lines S have been formed out of the same conductive film as thesource lines S, and the COM signal lines G_(COM) which run parallel tothe gate lines G have been formed out of the same conductive film as thegate lines G. These COM signal lines S_(COM) and G_(COM) may beelectrically connected together in the vicinity of the respectivecorners of the display area 120 in the peripheral area 110, for example.It should be noted that the conductive film to make the COM signal linesdoes not have to be the one described above. Optionally, the entire COMsignal lines may have been formed out of the same conductive film aseither the gate lines G or the source lines S.

Each COM-G connecting portion to connect the COM signal line G_(COM) tothe common electrode may be arranged between adjacent source lines S soas not to overlap with the S-G connecting portion 103 in the peripheralarea 110. In this description, the region where the COM-G connectingportion is formed will be referred to herein as a “COM-G connectingportion forming region 104R”.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, COM-S connecting portions to connect theCOM signal lines S_(COM) to the common electrode may be arranged in theperipheral area 110.

Depending on the mode of operation of the display device to which thissemiconductor device 100 is applied, the counter electrode does not haveto be a common electrode. In that case, the COM signal lines and COM-Gconnecting portions do not have to be provided in the peripheral area110. Also, if this semiconductor device 100 is applied to a displaydevice to operate in the longitudinal electric field driving mode, forexample, the transparent conductive layer which is arranged to face thepixel electrodes with a dielectric layer interposed between them doesnot have to function as an electrode.

<Terminal Portion Forming Region 102R>

First of all, the structure of the terminal portions on the TFTsubstrate of this embodiment will be described. FIGS. 2( a) and 2(b) arerespectively a plan view and a cross-sectional view illustrating aterminal portion which has been formed in the peripheral area of the TFTsubstrate. Even though two adjacent terminals are illustrated in FIG. 2(b), the number of terminals is not particularly limited.

The terminal portion 102 includes a lower conductive layer 3 t which isarranged on a substrate 1, a gate insulating layer 5 which has beenextended so as to cover the lower conductive layer 3 t, and asemiconductor layer 7 t which has been formed out of an oxidesemiconductor on the gate insulating layer 5. A contact hole CH has beencut through the gate insulating layer 5 and the semiconductor layer 7 tso as to partially expose the lower conductive layer 3 t (i.e., so as toreach the lower conductive layer 3 t). That is to say, the contact holeCH is defined by the respective holes 5 q, 7 q of the gate insulatinglayer 5 and the semiconductor layer 7 t. On the sidewall of the contacthole CH, the side surface of the gate insulating layer 5 which faces thehole 5 q (i.e., its side surface which fronts the contact hole CH) andthe side surface of the semiconductor layer 7 t which faces the hole 7 q(i.e., its side surface which fronts the contact hole CH) are alignedwith each other.

A lower transparent connecting layer 15 t has been formed on thesemiconductor layer 7 t and inside the contact hole CH. The lowertransparent connecting layer 15 t contacts with the lower conductivelayer 3 t inside the contact hole CH. An upper transparent connectinglayer 19 t has been stacked on the lower transparent connecting layer 15t. The upper transparent connecting layer 19 t contacts with the lowertransparent connecting layer 15 t at the bottom and on the side surfaceof the contact hole CH. In this terminal portion 102, electricalconnection can be established between the upper transparent connectinglayer 19 t and the lower conductive layer 3 t via the lower transparentconnecting layer 15 t.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the lower conductive layer 3 t mayhave been formed out of the same conductive film as the gate lines 3,for example. The lower conductive layer 3 t may be connected to the gatelines 3 (in the gate terminal portions) or may be connected to thesource lines 11 via the S-G connecting portions (in the source terminalportions).

The terminal portion 102 of this embodiment has a redundant structurecomprised of the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t and the uppertransparent connecting layer 19 t. That is why an increase in resistancewhich would be caused due to disconnection of a conductive film at anedge of a depressed portion that has been cut through the gateinsulating layer 5 and the semiconductor layer 7 t can be minimized, andtherefore, the reliability can be increased compared to the conventionalstructures. In addition, since the semiconductor layer 7 t can be usedaccording to this embodiment as an etching mask in the process step ofcutting a hole 5 q through the gate insulating layer 5 as will bedescribed later, a terminal portion 102 with such a redundant structurecan be made without complicating the manufacturing process.

If this embodiment is applied to a TFT substrate for use in an FFS modedisplay device, the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t is suitablyformed out of the same transparent conductive film as the commonelectrode, and the upper transparent connecting layer 19 t is suitablyformed out of the same conductive film as the pixel electrodes. By usingsuch a pair of electrode layers to be the common electrode and the pixelelectrodes, a terminal portion 102 with the redundant structure can beformed with an increase in the number of manufacturing process steps orthe number of masks to use checked.

When viewed along a normal to the substrate 1, the semiconductor layer 7t and the upper and lower transparent connecting layers 19 t, 15 tsuitably overlap with each other. That is to say, the upper transparentconnecting layer 19 t suitably covers a portion of the lower transparentconnecting layer 15 t which is located over the semiconductor layer 7 t,too. In that case, such an increase in resistance due to disconnectionaround the edge can be checked with even more certainty. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 2( a), an end portion 19 e of the upper transparentconnecting layer 19 t is located on the lower transparent connectinglayer 15 t. However, the upper transparent connecting layer 19 t maycover the entire upper surface of the lower transparent connecting layer15 t, too. For example, the upper transparent connecting layer 19 t maycover not only the entire upper surface of the lower transparentconnecting layer 15 t but also other side surface of the lowertransparent connecting layer 15 t and the semiconductor layer 7 topposite from the hole 7 q as well as shown in FIG. 2( c).

In this embodiment, the side surface of the semiconductor layer 7 twhich faces the hole 7 q is aligned with the side surface of the gateinsulating layer 5 which faces the hole 5 q. Such a structure can beobtained by cutting the hole 5 q through the gate insulating layer 5using the semiconductor layer 7 t as an etching mask as will bedescribed later. On the other hand, another side surface of thesemiconductor layer 7 t opposite from the hole 7 q may be aligned withthe side surface of the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t. Such astructure can be obtained by etching the semiconductor layer 7 t and thelower transparent connecting layer 15 t simultaneously.

In this description, if two or more different layers “have their sidesurfaces aligned with each other”, the side surfaces of those layers maynot only be vertically aligned with each other but also define acontinuous sloped surface such as a tapered surface. Such aconfiguration can be obtained by etching those layers through the samemask, for example.

<Transistor Forming Region 101R>

The semiconductor device 100 of this embodiment includes a TFT 101 and acontact portion 105(1) to connect the TFT 101 to its associated pixelelectrode in each pixel. In this embodiment, the contact portion 105(1)is also arranged in the transistor forming region 101R.

FIGS. 3( a) and 3(b) are respectively a plan view and a cross-sectionalview illustrating a TFT 101 and contact portion 105(1) according to thisembodiment. Even though a surface which is tilted with respect to thesubstrate 1 (such as a tapered portion) is indicated by stepped lines inthe cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 3( b), actually the surface is asmooth sloped surface. The same can be said about each of the othercross-sectional views attached to the present application.

The semiconductor device 100 of this embodiment includes a TFT 101 and acontact portion 105(1) to connect the TFT 101 to its associated pixelelectrode in each pixel. In this embodiment, the contact portion 105(1)is also arranged in the transistor forming region 101R.

In the transistor forming region 101R, there are a TFT 101, aninsulating layer 14 which covers the TFT 101, a drain connectedtransparent conductive layer 15 a which is arranged on the insulatinglayer 14 and not electrically connected to the first transparentconductive layer 15, and a second transparent conductive layer 19 awhich is arranged over the first transparent conductive layer 15 with adielectric layer (insulating layer) 17 interposed between them. Also,the drain electrode 11 d of the TFT 101 and the second transparentconductive layer 19 a are electrically connected together inside a firstcontact hole CH1 which has been cut through the interlevel insulatinglayer 14 and the dielectric layer 17. In this description, theinsulating layer 14 which has been formed between the first transparentconductive layer 15 and the TFT 101 will be referred to herein as an“interlevel insulating layer”, and an insulating layer which has beenformed between the first and second transparent conductive layers 15 and19 a and which forms capacitance with these conductive layers 15 and 19a will be referred to herein as a “dielectric layer”. In thisembodiment, the interlevel insulating layer 14 includes a firstinsulating layer 12 which has been formed in contact with the drainelectrode 11 d of the TFT 101 and a second insulating layer 13 which hasbeen formed on the first insulating layer 12.

The TFT 101 includes a gate electrode 3 a, a gate insulating layer 5which has been formed on the gate electrode 3 a, a semiconductor layer 7a which has been formed on the gate insulating layer 5, and source anddrain electrodes 11 s and 11 d which have been formed in contact withthe semiconductor layer 7 a. When viewed along a normal to the substrate1, at least a portion of the semiconductor layer 7 a to be a channelregion is arranged so as to overlap with the gate electrode 3 a with thegate insulating layer 5 interposed between them. In addition, aprotective layer 9 has also been formed so as to cover at least thatportion of the semiconductor layer 7 a to be a channel region. Thesource and drain electrodes 11 s, 11 d may contact with thesemiconductor layer 7 a inside holes that have been cut through theprotective layer 9.

The gate electrode 3 a has been formed out of the same conductive filmas the gate line 3 so that the gate electrode 3 a and the gate line 3form parts of the same layer. In this description, such a layer whichhas been formed out of the same conductive film as the gate line 3 willbe collectively referred to herein as a “gate line layer”. Thus, thegate line layer includes the gate line 3 and the gate electrode 3 a. Thegate line 3 includes a portion which functions as the gate of the TFT101 and which will be the gate electrode 3 a described above. Also, inthis description, a pattern of which the gate electrode 3 a and the gateline 3 form integral parts will be sometimes referred to herein as a“gate line 3”. When viewed along a normal to the substrate 1, the gateline 3 includes a portion which runs in a predetermined direction and anextended portion which is extended from that portion to run in adifferent direction from the predetermined one. And that extendedportion may function as the gate electrode 3 a. Or when viewed along anormal to the substrate 1, the gate line 3 may have a plurality oflinear portions which have a constant width and which run in apredetermined direction and some of those linear portions may overlapwith the channel region of the TFT 101 and function as the gateelectrode 3 a.

The source and drain electrodes 11 s and 11 d have been formed out ofthe same conductive film as the source line 11. In this description,such a layer which has been formed out of the same conductive film asthe source line 11 will be collectively referred to herein as a “sourceline layer”. Thus, the source line layer includes the source line andthe source and drain electrodes 11 s and 11 d. The source electrode 11 sis electrically connected to the source line 11. The source line 11 mayinclude a portion which runs in a predetermined direction and anextended portion which is extended from that portion to run in adifferent direction from the predetermined one. And that extendedportion may function as the source electrode 11 s.

The interlevel insulating layer 14 and the dielectric layer 17 have afirst contact hole CH1 which reaches the surface of (i.e., whichexposes) the drain electrode 11 d of the TFT 101. In the first contacthole CH1, the drain electrode 11 d of the TFT 101 and the secondtransparent conductive layer 19 a are electrically connected together.In this example, in the first contact hole CH1, a portion of the surfaceof the drain electrode 11 d contacts with the drain connectedtransparent conductive layer 15 a and another portion thereof contactswith the second transparent conductive layer 19 a. Optionally, thesecond transparent conductive layer 19 a and the drain electrode 11 dmay be connected together via the drain connected transparent conductivelayer 15 a as will be described later. In this description, a portionwhere the drain electrode 11 d of the TFT 101 contacts with atransparent conductive layer that has been formed over the drainelectrode 11 d (i.e., the drain connected transparent conductive layer15 a and the second transparent conductive layer 19 a in this example)will be referred to herein as a “contact portion”.

As shown in FIG. 3( b), the gate insulating layer 5 may have amultilayer structure comprised of a first gate insulating layer 5A and asecond gate insulating layer 5B which has been stacked on the first gateinsulating layer 5A.

Of the interlevel insulating layer 14, the first insulating layer 12which is arranged closer to the TFT 101 may be an inorganic insulatinglayer, for example, and has been formed so as to contact with a portionof the drain electrode 11 d. The first insulating layer 12 functions asa passivation layer. The second insulating layer 13 which has beenformed on the first insulating layer 12 may be an organic insulatingfilm. Although the interlevel insulating layer 14 has a double layerstructure in the example illustrated in FIG. 3( b), the interlevelinsulating layer 14 may also have a single layer structure consisting ofonly the first insulating layer 12 or may even have a multilayerstructure consisting of three or more layers.

The first transparent conductive layer 15 may function as a commonelectrode, for example, and has a hole 15 p. The drain connectedtransparent conductive layer 15 a has been formed out of the sameconductive film as the first transparent conductive layer 15 but is notelectrically connected to the first transparent conductive layer 15.

The second transparent conductive layer 19 a may function as a pixelelectrode, for example, and has been divided into multiple portions forrespective pixels in this example. Also, the second transparentconductive layer 19 a has a plurality of slit holes.

The second transparent conductive layer 19 a is arranged so as tooverlap at least partially with the first transparent conductive layer15 with the dielectric layer 17 interposed between them when viewedalong a normal to the substrate 1. That is why capacitance is producedin that overlapping portion between those two conductive layers 15 and19 a. The capacitance can function as a storage capacitor for a displaydevice.

The contact portion 105(1) is arranged so as to overlap at leastpartially with the gate line layer (i.e., either the gate line 3 or thegate electrode 3 a in this case) when viewed along a normal to thesubstrate 1.

Hereinafter, the shapes of the contact portion 105(1) and contact holeCH1 will be described with reference to FIG. 3( a). The first contacthole CH1 is defined by the holes that have been cut through the firsttransparent conductive layer 15, the dielectric layer 17, the secondinsulating layer 13 and the first insulating layer 12. In FIG. 3( a),exemplary profiles of the respective holes of the first transparentconductive layer 15, dielectric layer 17, second insulating layer 13 andfirst insulating layer 12 are indicated by the lines 15 p, 17 p, 13 pand 12 p, respectively.

In this description, if the side surface of a hole that has been cutthrough the respective layers is not perpendicular to the substrate 1but if the size of the hole changes with the depth (e.g., if the holehas a tapered shape), the profile of the hole at a depth at which thehole has the smallest size will be referred to herein as the “profile ofthe hole”. That is why in FIG. 3( a), the profile of the hole 13 p ofthe second insulating layer 13, for example, is the profile at thebottom of the second insulating layer 13 (i.e., at the interface betweenthe second and first insulating layers 13 and 12).

Both of the holes 17 p and 13 p are located inside of the hole 15 p ofthe first transparent conductive layer 15. That is why the firsttransparent conductive layer 15 is not exposed on the sidewall of thefirst contact hole CH1. The hole 12 p of the first insulating layer 12may be aligned with the hole 13 p of the second insulating layer 13.These holes 17 p and 13 p are arranged so as to at least partiallyoverlap with each other. And that overlapping portion between theseholes 17 p and 13 p corresponds to the hole 12 p of the first insulatinglayer 12 which contacts with the drain electrode 11 d. In thisembodiment, the holes 17 p and 13 p are arranged so that at least partof the hole 13 p of the second insulating layer 13 is located inside ofthe profile of the hole 17 p of the dielectric layer 17. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 3( a), the entire hole 13 p of the second insulatinglayer 13 is located inside of the profile of the hole 17 p of thedielectric layer 17.

Inside the hole 15 p, a drain connected transparent conductive layer 15a has been formed so as to be electrically isolated from the firsttransparent conductive layer 15. In this example, the drain connectedtransparent conductive layer 15 a covers a part of the side surface ofthe hole 13 p, a part of the side surface of the hole 12 p, and a partof the surface of the drain electrode 11 d which is exposed throughthese holes. Inside the contact hole CH1, the second transparentconductive layer 19 a covers the drain connected transparent conductivelayer 15 a, parts of the surface of the drain electrode 11 d and theside surfaces of the holes 12 p, 13 p which are not covered with thedrain connected transparent conductive layer 15 a, and the side surfaceof the hole 17 p of the dielectric layer 17.

As will be described later, the first contact hole CH1 is cut by etchingthe dielectric layer 17 and the first insulating layer 12 and patterningthe second insulating layer 13. Since an organic insulating film is usedas the second insulating layer 13 according to this embodiment, a hole13 p is cut through the second insulating layer 13 and then the firstinsulating layer 12 is etched using the second insulating layer 13 as anetching mask. As a result, the side surface of the first insulatinglayer 12 which faces the hole 12 p is aligned with a portion of the sidesurface of the second insulating layer 13 which faces the hole 13 p(i.e., inside the first contact hole CH1 shown in FIG. 3( b)). In thisdescription, if two or more different layers “have their side surfacesaligned with each other”, the side surfaces of those layers may not onlybe vertically aligned with each other but also define a continuoussloped surface such as a tapered surface. Such a configuration can beobtained by etching those layers through the same mask, for example.

Such a contact portion 105(1) may be formed in the following manner, forexample. First of all, a TFT 101 is fabricated on the substrate 1. Next,a first insulating layer 12 which contacts with at least the drainelectrode 11 d of the TFT 101 is formed so as to cover the TFT 101.Subsequently, a second insulating layer 13 with a hole 13 p is formed onthe first insulating layer 12. Thereafter, the first insulating layer 12is etched using the second insulating layer 13 as a mask, therebycutting a hole 12 p. By etching the first insulating layer 12, thesurface of the drain electrode 11 d gets exposed. After that, a firsttransparent conductive layer 15 with a hole 15 p is formed on the secondinsulating layer 13 and a drain connected transparent conductive layer15 a is formed inside the hole 15 p. At this time, the drain connectedtransparent conductive layer 15 a contacts with a part of the surface ofthe drain electrode 11 d inside the hole 12 p, while the rest of thesurface of the drain electrode 11 d is exposed. And then a dielectriclayer 17 with a hole 17 p is formed on the first transparent conductivelayer 15. These holes 12 p, 13 p and 17 p together form the firstcontact hole CH1. Subsequently, a second transparent conductive layer 19a is formed on the dielectric layer 17 and inside the first contact holeCH1 so as to contact with the rest of the surface of the drain electrode11 d. This process step of forming the contact portion 105(1) will bedescribed in further detail later.

In this embodiment, the drain electrode 11 d and the second transparentconductive layer 19 a need not directly contact with each other insidethe first contact hole CH1.

FIGS. 4( a) and 4(b) are respectively a plan view and a cross-sectionalview illustrating another exemplary TFT and contact portion according tothis embodiment. FIG. 4( b) illustrates a cross section as viewed on theplane A-A′ shown in FIG. 4( a). In FIGS. 4( a) and 4(b), any componentalso included in the TFT 101 and contact portion 105(1) shown in FIG. 3and having substantially the same function as its counterpart isidentified by the same reference numeral and description thereof will beomitted herein to avoid redundancies.

In this contact portion 105(2), inside the first contact hole CH1, thedrain electrode 11 d contacts with only the drain connected transparentconductive layer 15 a and does not contact with the second transparentconductive layer 19 a. That is to say, the drain electrode 11 d iselectrically connected to the second transparent conductive layer 19 avia the drain connected transparent conductive layer 15 a. In thisexample, a portion in which the drain electrode 11 d contacts with thedrain connected transparent conductive layer 15 a becomes the contactportion 105(2). The contact portion 105(2) is arranged so as to overlapwith the gate line layer (i.e., either the gate line 3 or the gateelectrode 3 in this case) when viewed along a normal to the substrate 1.Furthermore, the hole 17 p of the dielectric layer 17 and the holes 12p, 13 p of the interlevel insulating layer 14 (i.e., the first andsecond insulating layers 12 and 13) are arranged so as to partiallyoverlap with each other. Thus, the dielectric layer 17 has been formedso as to cover a portion of the drain connected transparent conductivelayer 15 a on the side surface of the interlevel insulating layer 14which faces the hole. The second transparent conductive layer 19 a hasbeen formed so as to cover the dielectric layer 17 and a portion of thedrain connected transparent conductive layer 15 a which is not coveredwith the dielectric layer 17.

This contact portion 105(2) may be formed in the following manner, forexample. First of all, as in the method of forming the contact portion105(1) described above, the first insulating layer 12 is etched usingthe second insulating layer 13 as a mask, thereby cutting a hole 12 pwhich exposes the surface of the drain electrode 11 d. After that, afirst transparent conductive layer 15 with a hole 15 p is formed on thesecond insulating layer 13 and a drain connected transparent conductivelayer 15 a is formed inside the hole 15 p. At this time, the drainconnected transparent conductive layer 15 a is arranged so as to contactwith the entire surface of the drain electrode 11 d inside the hole 12p. And then a dielectric layer 17 with a hole 17 p is formed on thefirst transparent conductive layer 15. These holes 12 p, 13 p and 17 ptogether form the first contact hole CH1. Since a part of the profile ofthe hole 17 p is located inside of the profile of the hole 13 p, thedielectric layer 17 is formed so as to cover partially the respectiveside surfaces of the holes 12 p and 13 p (i.e., the side surface on theleft-hand side in FIG. 4). Subsequently, a second transparent conductivelayer 19 a is formed on the dielectric layer 17 and inside the firstcontact hole CH1 so as to contact with the drain connected transparentconductive layer 15 a.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are respectively a plan view and a cross-sectional viewillustrating still another contact portion 105(3) according to thisembodiment.

This contact portion 105(3) is arranged over a lower conductive layer 3c which has been formed out of the same conductive film as the gate line3 and which is electrically isolated from the gate line 3. The lowerconductive layer 3 c may be a storage capacitor line, for example. Overthe lower conductive layer 3 c, an upper conductive layer 11 c has beenformed with a gate insulating layer 5 interposed between them. The upperconductive layer 11 c has been formed out of the same conductive film asthe source line 11 and is electrically connected to the drain electrode11 d. Optionally, the upper conductive layer 11 c and the drainelectrode 11 d may form respective parts of the same layer. Over theupper conductive layer 11 c, an interlevel insulating layer 14 has beenformed to have a hole 14 p that exposes the upper conductive layer 11 c.Inside the hole 14 p of the interlevel insulating layer 14, the drainconnected transparent conductive layer 15 a, the dielectric layer 17 andthe second transparent conductive layer 10 a have been stacked one uponthe other in this order. A hole 17 p has been cut through the dielectriclayer 17. In this example, the hole 17 p is arranged inside the profileof the hole 14 p. The second transparent conductive layer 19 a contactswith the drain connected transparent conductive layer 15 a inside thehole 17 p which has been cut through the dielectric layer 17.

As can be seen, in this contact portion 105(3), the second transparentconductive layer 19 a that is the pixel electrode is electricallyconnected to the upper conductive layer 11 c via the drain connectedtransparent conductive layer 15 a. This contact portion 105(3) alsofunctions as a storage capacitor, of which the lower and upperelectrodes are defined by the lower and upper conductive layers 3 c and11 c, respectively.

Since the contact portions 105(1) to 105(3) of this embodiment (whichwill be simply referred to herein as “contact portions 105 b”) have suchconfigurations, the following advantages can be achieved according tothis embodiment.

(1) Size of the Contact Portion 105 can be Reduced

According to a conventional configuration (such as the configurationdisclosed in Patent Document No. 2), a contact portion to connect adrain electrode and a common electrode together and another contactportion to connect the common electrode and a pixel electrode togetherneed to be formed separately, and therefore, the chip area that shouldbe allocated to the contact portions cannot be reduced, which is aproblem.

On the other hand, according to this embodiment, the drain electrode 11d and the second transparent conductive layer 19 a (pixel electrode) canbe electrically connected together inside a single first contact holeCH1, and therefore, the area that should be allocated to the contacthole can be reduced.

In addition, in the contact portions 105(1) and 105(2), the drainconnected transparent conductive layer 15 a is arranged so as to coveronly a part of the side surface of the first contact hole CH1. That iswhy compared to a configuration in which two transparent conductivelayers are stacked one upon the other inside the entire contact hole,respective components can be laid out more efficiently, and the sizes ofthe first contact hole CH1 and the contact portion 105 can be reduced.Consequently, a TFT substrate of a higher definition is realized. On topof that, since a redundant structure is formed locally by the secondtransparent conductive layer 19 a and the drain electrode 11 d insidethe first contact hole CH1, the reliability of the contact portion 105can be increased.

(2) Surface Protection for the Drain Electrode 11 d

In forming the contact portions 105(1) to 105(3), the manufacturingprocess can be advanced to the process step of forming the dielectriclayer 17 with the surface of the drain electrode 11 d covered eitherpartially or entirely with the drain connected transparent conductivelayer 15 a. If such a process is adopted, the area of the exposedportion of the drain electrode 11 d can be reduced compared to asituation where the dielectric layer 17 is formed with the drainelectrode 11 d exposed on the entire bottom of the first contact holeCH1. As a result, the process induced damage to be done on the surfaceof the drain electrode 11 d can be reduced. Consequently, a stabilizedcontact portion 105 with even lower resistance can be formed. Amongother things, according to the configurations of the contact portions105(2) and 105(3), the manufacturing process can be advanced to theprocess step of forming the dielectric layer 17 with the exposed surfaceof the drain electrode 11 d covered entirely with the drain connectedtransparent conductive layer 15 a. For that reason, the process induceddamage to be done on the surface of the drain electrode 11 d can bereduced even more effectively.

(3) Transmittance can be Increased by Arranging Contact Portion 105

In the contact portions 105(1) to 105(3), when viewed along a normal tothe substrate 1, the contact portion 105 in which the drain electrode 11d of the TFT 101 contacts with either the drain connected transparentconductive layer 15 a or the second transparent conductive layer 19 a issuitably arranged to overlap with the gate line layer (such as the gateline 3 or the lower conductive layer 3 c). As a result, the decrease inaperture ratio due to the presence of the contact portion 105 can bechecked and the transmittance can be increased compared to theconventional configuration.

Among other things, if the contact portion 105 overlaps at leastpartially with either the gate line 3 or the gate electrode 3 a as inthe contact portions 105(1) and 105(2), a TFT substrate of higherdefinition can be obtained. More suitably, the contact portion 105 isarranged to overlap entirely with either the gate line 3 or the gateelectrode 3 a.

As described for the effect (1), according to this embodiment, the areaof the contact portion 105 can be reduced, and therefore, the entirecontact portion 105 can be arranged to overlap with the gate line 3without increasing the width of the gate line 3. As a result, thetransmittance can be increased more effectively, and the definition canbe further increased.

Furthermore, in a region where the contact portion 105 is going to beformed, the width of the drain electrode 11 d is suitably set to besufficiently smaller than the width of the gate line 3 and the entiredrain electrode 11 d is suitably arranged so as to overlap with the gateline 3. For example, in the plan view shown in FIG. 3( a), the patternsof the gate electrode 3 a and drain electrode 11 d may be set so thatthe distance between the respective edges of the gate electrode 3 a anddrain electrode 11 d becomes equal to or greater than 2 μm. As a result,the decrease in transmittance due to the presence of the drain electrode11 d can be checked. In addition, since the variation in Cgd due tomisalignment can be minimized, the reliability of the liquid crystaldisplay device can be increased.

(4) Transmittance can be Increased by Transparent Storage Capacitor

According to this embodiment, a storage capacitor line may be providedso that a storage capacitor is formed on the storage capacitor line, butthe storage capacitor line itself may be omitted. In that case, thesecond transparent conductive layer 19 a may be arranged so as tooverlap at least partially with the first transparent conductive layer15 with the dielectric layer 17 interposed between them, therebyproducing capacitance. This capacitance can function as a storagecapacitor. By appropriately adjusting the material and thickness of thedielectric layer 17 and the area of a portion to produce thecapacitance, a storage capacitor with any intended capacitance can beobtained. That is why there is no need to form a storage capacitorseparately inside a pixel using the same metal film as the source line,for example, which is advantageous. As a result, the decrease inaperture ratio due to the presence of a storage capacitor using a metalfilm can be checked.

In this embodiment, the semiconductor layer 7 a for use as the activelayer of the TFT 101 is not particularly limited but may be an oxidesemiconductor layer, for example. The oxide semiconductor layer mayinclude an In—Ga—Zn—O based semiconductor (which will be referred toherein as an “IGZO based semiconductor”), for example. In this case, theIGZO based semiconductor is a ternary oxide of In (indium), Ga (gallium)and Zn (zinc). The ratios (i.e., mole fractions) of In, Ga and Zn arenot particularly limited. For example, In:Ga:Zn=2:2:1, In:Ga:Zn=1:1:1 orIn:Ga:Zn=1:1:2 may be satisfied. The IGZO based semiconductor may beeither amorphous or crystalline. If the IGZO based semiconductor is acrystalline one, a crystalline IGZO based semiconductor of which the caxis is substantially perpendicular to the layer plane is suitably used.The crystal structure of such an IGZO based semiconductor is disclosed,for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-134475,the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.Since an oxide semiconductor has higher mobility than an amorphoussilicon semiconductor, the size of the TFT 101 can be reduced. On top ofthat, if an oxide semiconductor TFT is applied to the semiconductordevice of this embodiment, the following advantages can also beachieved.

As described above, the contact portion 105 is suitably arranged so asto overlap with the gate line 3 to increase the aperture ratio of eachpixel. Then, Cgd increases compared to the conventional configuration.The semiconductor device is ordinarily designed so that the ratio of Cgdto the pixel capacitance Cgd/[Cgd+(C_(LC)+C_(CS))] is less than apredetermined value. For that reason, as Cgd increases, the pixelcapacitance (C_(LC)+C_(CS)) should also be increased accordingly.However, even if the pixel capacitance can be increased, an amorphoussilicon TFT could not write at a conventional frame frequency. As can beseen, for a conventional semiconductor device using an amorphous siliconTFT, it is not practical to adopt a configuration in which the contactportion is arranged to overlap with the gate line, and such aconfiguration has never been adopted, because other characteristics thata display device needs to have would not be satisfied with such aconfiguration.

On the other hand, according to this embodiment, C_(CS) can be increasedby using a storage capacitor which is formed by the first and secondtransparent conductive layers 15 and 19 a and dielectric layer 17described above. Since both of these conductive layers 15 and 19 a aretransparent, the transmittance would not decrease even if such a storagecapacitor is formed. Consequently, the pixel capacitance can beincreased and the ratio of Cgd to the pixel capacitance can be reducedto a sufficiently low level. Furthermore, by applying an oxidesemiconductor TFT to this embodiment, even if the pixel capacitanceincreases, the mobility of the oxide semiconductor is so high that awrite operation can be performed at as high a frame frequency as aconventional one. As a result, the aperture ratio can be increased to adegree corresponding to the area of the contact portion 105 with asufficiently high writing speed maintained and withCgd/[Cgd+(C_(LC)+C_(CS))] reduced to a sufficiently low level.

If the semiconductor device 100 of this embodiment is applied to an FFSmode display device, then the second transparent conductive layer 19 ais divided into multiple portions for respective pixels, which functionas pixel electrodes. Each of those portions (pixel electrodes) of thesecond transparent conductive layer 19 a suitably has a plurality ofslit holes. On the other hand, as long as the first transparentconductive layer 15 is arranged under the slit holes of the pixelelectrodes to say the least, the first transparent conductive layer 15functions as a counter electrode for the pixel electrodes and can applya lateral electric field to liquid crystal molecules. The firsttransparent conductive layer 15 is suitably formed so as to cover almostentirely a portion of each pixel which is not hidden behind a metal filmsuch as the gate line 3 or the source line 11 and which transmits theincoming light. In this embodiment, the first transparent conductivelayer 15 covers almost the entire pixel (except the hole 15 p to definethe contact portion 105). As a result, a portion of the firsttransparent conductive layer 15 which overlaps with the secondtransparent conductive layer 19 a can be increased, and therefore, thearea of the storage capacitor can be increased. In addition, if thefirst transparent conductive layer 15 covers almost the entire pixel, anelectric field coming from an electrode (or line) which is located underthe first transparent conductive layer 15 can be cut off by the firsttransparent conductive layer 15, which is also advantageous. 80% or moreof each pixel is suitably covered with the first transparent conductivelayer 15, for example.

The semiconductor device 100 of this embodiment is applicable to adisplay device which operates in any mode other than the FFS mode. Forexample, to apply the semiconductor device 100 of this embodiment to alongitudinal electric field driven display device such as a VA modedisplay device so that the second transparent conductive layer 19 afunctions as a pixel electrode and that a transparent storage capacitoris formed in each pixel, the dielectric layer 17 and the firsttransparent conductive layer 15 may be formed between the pixelelectrodes and the TFTs 101.

<S-G Connecting Portion Forming Region 103R>

FIGS. 6A and 6B are respectively a plan view and a cross-sectional viewillustrating a portion of an S-G connecting portion forming region 103Raccording to this embodiment.

In each S-G connecting portion 103 to be formed in the S-G connectingportion forming region 103R, a lower conductive layer 3 sg which hasbeen formed out of the same conductive film as the gate line 3 and anupper conductive layer 11 sg which has been formed out of the sameconductive film as the source line 11 are connected together via a lowertransparent conductive layer 15 sg. In the example illustrated in FIG.6, the S-G connecting portion 103 includes: a first connecting portion103A to connect the lower conductive layer 3 sg and the lowertransparent conductive layer 15 sg together; and a second connectingportion 103B to connect the upper conductive layer 11 sg and the lowertransparent conductive layer 15 sg together. The lower transparentconductive layer 15 sg may have been formed out of the same conductivefilm as the first transparent conductive layer 15, for example.

The first connecting portion 103A includes: the lower conductive layer 3sg; the gate insulating layer 5, protective layer 9 and interlevelinsulating layer 14 which have been extended so as to cover the lowerconductive layer 3 sg; a lower transparent conductive layer 15 sg whichcontacts with the lower conductive layer 3 sg inside a hole 14 rA thathas been cut through the gate insulating layer 5, protective layer 9 andinterlevel insulating layer 14; and an upper transparent conductivelayer 19 sg which has been formed on the lower transparent conductivelayer 15 sg inside the hole 14 rA. The upper transparent conductivelayer 19 sg may have been formed out of the same conductive film as thesecond transparent conductive layer (pixel electrode) 19 a, for example.

On the other hand, the second connecting portion 103B includes: theupper conductive layer 11 sg which has been formed on the gateinsulating layer 5; the interlevel insulating layer 14 which has beenextended so as to cover the upper conductive layer 11 sg; the lowertransparent conductive layer 15 sg which contacts with the upperconductive layer 11 sg inside a hole 14 rB that has been cut through theinterlevel insulating layer 14; and the upper transparent conductivelayer 19 sg which has been formed on the lower transparent conductivelayer 15 sg inside the hole 14 rB.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, the holes 14 rA and 14 rB of thefirst and second connecting portions 103A and 103B are supposed to forma single continuous hole. However, these holes 14 rA and 14 rB may alsobe two separate holes.

In the S-G connecting portion 103 of this embodiment, in the holes 14 rAand 14 rB, the lower and upper transparent conductive layers 15 sg and19 sg are stacked one upon the other to form a redundant structure. Inthis manner, the reliability of the S-G connecting portion 103 can beincreased.

In this embodiment, the upper conductive layer 11 sg is connected to thesource line 11 and the lower conductive layer 3 sg is connected to thelower conductive layer 3 t of the terminal portion (i.e., sourceterminal portion) 102. In this manner, the source line 11 can beconnected to the terminal portion 102 via the S-G connecting portion103.

<Configuration for Liquid Crystal Display Device>

Hereinafter, a configuration for a liquid crystal display device thatuses the semiconductor device 100 of this embodiment will be described.FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary liquid crystal display device 1000according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, this liquid crystal display device 1000 includes aliquid crystal layer 930, a TFT substrate 100 (corresponding to thesemiconductor device 100 of the first embodiment) and a countersubstrate 900 which face each other with the liquid crystal layer 930interposed between them, two polarizers 910 and 920 which are arrangedoutside of the TFT substrate 100 and counter substrate 900,respectively, and a backlight unit 940 which emits light for displaypurposes toward the TFT substrate 100. On the TFT substrate 100,arranged are a scan line driver to drive a plurality of scan lines (gatebus lines) and a signal line driver to drive a plurality of signal lines(data bus lines). The scan line driver and the signal line driver areconnected to a controller which is arranged outside of the TFT substrate100. Under the control by the controller, scan signals to turn ON andOFF the TFTs are supplied from the scan line driver to those scan linesand display signals (i.e., voltages applied to the second transparentconductive layer 19 a that are pixel electrodes) are supplied from thesignal line driver to those signal lines. Also, as already describedwith reference to FIG. 1, a COM signal is supplied through a COM signalline to the first transparent conductive layer 15 that is a commonelectrode.

The counter substrate 900 includes color filters 950, which include R(red), G (green) and B (blue) filters that are arranged for respectivepixels when a display operation is supposed to be conducted in the threeprimary colors.

This liquid crystal display device 1000 conducts a display operation byinducing alignments of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystallayer on a pixel-by-pixel basis in response to a potential differencebetween the first transparent conductive layer 15 that functions as thecommon electrode of the TFT substrate 100 and the second transparentconductive layer 19 a that functions as pixel electrodes.

<Method for Fabricating Semiconductor Device 100>

Hereinafter, an exemplary method for fabricating the semiconductordevice 100 of this embodiment will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

In the example to be described below, it will be described how to makethe TFTs 101 and contact portion 105 shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, theterminal portions 102(1) shown in FIGS. 2( a) and 2(b), and the S-Gconnecting portions 103 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B on the substrate 1simultaneously. It should be noted that the manufacturing process ofthis embodiment is not limited to the exemplary one to be describedbelow. Also, the respective configurations of the TFTs 101, contactportions 105, terminal portions 102, and S-G connecting portions 103 areappropriately changeable, too.

FIG. 8 shows the flow of the manufacturing process of the semiconductordevice 100 of this embodiment. In this example, a mask is used in eachof STEPS 1 through 8, and eight masks are used in total.

Portions (a) through (h) of FIGS. 9A, 10A and 11A are plan viewsillustrating the process step of forming a TFT 101, a contact portion105, an S-G connecting portion 103 and a terminal portion 102 on thesame substrate. Portions (a) through (h) of FIGS. 9B, 10B and 11B arecross-sectional views corresponding to portions (a) through (h) of FIGS.9A, 10A and 11A.

STEP 1: Gate Line Forming Process Step (Shown in Respective Portions (a)of FIGS. 9A and 9B)

First of all, although not shown, a gate-line-to-be metal film isdeposited to a thickness of 50 nm to 500 nm, for example, on thesubstrate 1. The gate-line-to-be metal film may be deposited on thesubstrate 1 by sputtering process, for example.

Next, a gate line layer is formed by patterning the gate-line-to-bemetal film. In this process step, in the transistor forming region 101R,the gate electrode 3 a of the TFT 101 and the lower conductive layer 3 care formed by patterning the gate-line-to-be metal film so that the gateelectrode 3 a, the lower conductive layer 3 c and the gate line formrespective parts of the same layer as shown in respective portions (a)of FIGS. 9A and 9B. In the same way, the lower conductive layer 3 t ofthe terminal portion 102 is formed in the terminal portion formingregion 102R, and the lower conductive layer 3 sg of the S-G connectingportion 103 is formed in the S-G connecting portion forming region 103R.

As the substrate 1, a glass substrate, a silicon substrate, or a plasticsubstrate (resin substrate) with thermal resistance may be used, forexample.

The material of the gate-line-to-be metal film is not particularlylimited. But a film of a material appropriately selected from the groupconsisting of metals aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo),tantalum (Ta), chromium (Cr), titanium (Ti) and copper (Cu), theiralloys, and their metal nitrides, or a stack of films of any of thesematerials, may be used. In this example, a stack of Cu (copper) and Ti(titanium) layers is used. The thicknesses of the upper Cu and the lowerTi layers may be for example 300 nm and 30 nm, respectively. Apatterning process is carried out by defining a resist mask (not shown)by known photolithographic process and then removing portions of thegate-line-to-be metal film which are not covered with the resist mask.After the patterning process is done, the resist mask will be removed.

STEP 2: Gate Insulating Layer and Semiconductor Layer Forming ProcessStep (Shown in Respective Portions (b) of FIGS. 9A and 9B)

Next, as shown in respective portions (b) of FIGS. 9A and 9B, a gateinsulating layer 5 is formed over the substrate 1 so as to cover thegate electrode 3 a and the lower conductive layers 3 c, 3 t and 3 sg.Thereafter, by stacking a semiconductor film on the gate insulatinglayer 5 and patterning the semiconductor film, a semiconductor layer 7 ais formed in the transistor forming region 101R and a semiconductorlayer 7 t is formed in the terminal portion forming region 102R. Thesemiconductor layer 7 a is arranged so as to overlap at least partiallywith the gate electrode 3 a. Meanwhile, the semiconductor layer 7 t hasa hole 7 q over the lower conductive layer 3 t. When viewed along anormal to the substrate 1, the hole 7 q of the semiconductor layer 7 tis suitably located inside the profile of the lower conductive layer 3t. As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the semiconductor film may be removed inthe S-G connecting portion forming region 103R.

As the gate insulating layer 5, a silicon oxide (SiOx) layer, a siliconnitride (SiNx) layer, a silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy where x>y) layer, ora silicon nitride oxide (SiNxOy where x>y) layer may be usedappropriately. The gate insulating layer 5 may either be a single layeror have a multilayer structure. For example, a silicon nitride layer, asilicon nitride oxide layer or any other suitable layer may be formed asthe lower layer on the substrate to prevent dopants from diffusing fromthe substrate 1, and a silicon oxide layer, a silicon oxynitride layeror any other suitable layer may be formed thereon as the upper layer toensure electrical insulation. In this example, a gate insulating layer 5with a double layer structure is formed. The lower layer of the gateinsulating layer 5 may be an SiNx film with a thickness of 300 nm, forexample, and the upper layer of the gate insulating layer 5 may be anSiO₂ film with a thickness of 50 nm, for example. These insulatinglayers may be formed by CVD process, for example.

It should be noted that if an oxide semiconductor layer is used as thesemiconductor layer 7 a and if the gate insulating layer 5 is formed tohave a multilayer structure, the top layer of the gate insulating layer5 (i.e., the layer that contacts with the semiconductor layer) issuitably a layer including oxygen (such as an oxide layer like an SiO₂layer). In that case, even if there are oxygen deficiencies in the oxidesemiconductor layer, the oxygen deficiencies can be covered by oxygenincluded in the oxide layer. As a result, such oxygen deficiencies of anoxide semiconductor layer can be reduced effectively.

In this embodiment, an oxide semiconductor layer is formed as thesemiconductor layer 7 a. For example, an oxide semiconductor film (notshown) is deposited to a thickness of 30 nm to 200 nm on the gateinsulating layer 5 by sputtering process. The oxide semiconductor filmmay be an In—Ga—Zn—O based amorphous oxide semiconductor film includingIn, Ga and Zn at a ratio of one to one to one (i.e., an IGZO basedsemiconductor film), for example. In this example, an IGZO basedsemiconductor film with a thickness of 50 nm, for example, is formed asthe oxide semiconductor film. Thereafter, the oxide semiconductor filmis patterned by photolithographic process to obtain a semiconductorlayer 7 a, which is arranged so as to overlap with the gate electrode 3a with the gate insulating layer 5 interposed between them.

In the IGZO based semiconductor film, In, Ga and Zn do not have to havethe ratio described above but may also have any other appropriatelyselected ratio. Alternatively, the semiconductor layer 7 a may also bemade of another oxide semiconductor film, instead of the IGZO basedsemiconductor film. Examples of other oxide semiconductor films includeInGaO₃(ZnO)₅, magnesium zinc oxide (Mg_(x)Zn_(1-x)O), cadmium zinc oxide(Cd_(x)Zn_(1-x)O) and cadmium oxide (CdO) films.

STEP 3: Protective Layer and Gate Insulating Layer Etching Process Step(Shown in Respective Portions (c) of FIGS. 9A and 9B)

Next, a protective layer 9 is formed to a thickness of 30 nm to 200 nm,for example, on the semiconductor layers 7 a, 7 t and the gateinsulating layer 5. Subsequently, the protective layer 9 is etchedthrough a resist mask (not shown). In this process step, the etchingcondition is determined according to the materials of the respectivelayers so that only the protective layer 9 is etched selectively but thesemiconductor layers 7 a, 7 t and the gate insulating layer 5 are notetched. In this case, if a dry etching process is adopted, the etchingcondition includes the type of the etch gas, the temperature of thesubstrate 1, and the degree of vacuum in the chamber. On the other hand,if a wet etching process is adopted, then the etching condition includesthe type of the etchant and the etching process time.

As a result, in the transistor forming region 101R, a hole 9 p is cutthrough the protective layer 9 to expose portions on right- andleft-hand sides of a part of the semiconductor layer 7 a to be a channelregion as shown in respective portions (c) of FIGS. 9A and 9B. In thisetching process step, the semiconductor layer 7 a functions as an etchstopper. It should be noted that the protective layer 9 may be patternedso as to cover at least that part to be a channel region. That part ofthe protective layer 9 to be located over the channel region functionsas a channel protective film. With that film, the damage to be donelater on the semiconductor layer 7 a as a result of the etching processin the source and drain separating process step, for example, can beminimized, and therefore, the deterioration of the TFT characteristiccan be reduced.

On the other hand, in the terminal portion forming region 102R, theprotective layer 9 is formed so as to cover the upper surface of thesemiconductor layer 7 t. The protective layer 9 has a hole 9 q which islocated over the lower conductive layer 3 c. In respective portions (c)of FIGS. 9A and 9B, the respective side surfaces of the protective layer9 and semiconductor layer 7 t which face their holes 9 q and 7 q areillustrated as being aligned with each other. However, the end portionof the protective layer 9 suitably extends farther than (i.e., projectsinto the hole more deeply than) the end portion of the semiconductorlayer 7 t. That is to say, when viewed along a normal to the substrate1, the hole 9 q of the protective layer 9 is suitably located inside ofthe hole 7 q of the semiconductor layer 7. In that case, the entireupper surface of the semiconductor layer 7 t can be covered with theprotective layer 9 more perfectly. As a result, the damage to be donelater on the semiconductor layer 7 t through an etching process to formsource and drain electrodes can be reduced. To protect the semiconductorlayer 7 t more effectively, the protective layer 9 may cover the sidesurface of the semiconductor layer 7 t, too.

In the region where the contact portion 105 will be formed and in theS-G connecting portion forming region 103R, holes 9 w and 9 r are cutthrough the protective layer 9 over the lower conductive layers 3 c and3 sg, respectively.

The protective layer 9 may be a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitridefilm, a silicon oxynitride film or a stack of any of these films. Inthis example, a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) film is deposited as theprotective layer 9 to a thickness of 100 nm, for example, by CVDprocess.

If the protective layer 9 is formed on the semiconductor layers 7 a, 7t, the process damage to be done on the oxide semiconductor layer can bereduced. As the protective layer 9, an oxide film such as an SiOx film(including an SiO₂ film) is suitably used. In that case, even if thereare oxygen deficiencies in the oxide semiconductor layer, the oxygendeficiencies can be covered by oxygen included in the oxide film. As aresult, such oxygen deficiencies of an oxide semiconductor layer can bereduced more effectively. In this example, an SiO₂ film with a thicknessof 100 nm, for example, is used as the protective layer 9.

STEP 4: Source and Drain Forming Process Step (Shown in RespectivePortions (d) of FIGS. 10A and 10B)

Next, a source-line-to-be metal film is formed to a thickness of 50 nmto 500 nm, for example, over the protective layer 9 and inside the holes9 p, 9 w, 9 r and 9 q. The source-line-to-be metal film may be formed bysputtering process, for example.

Subsequently, a source line layer is formed by patterning thesource-line-to-be metal film. In this process step, source and drainelectrodes 11 s and 11 d and an upper conductive layer 11 c are formedout of the source-line-to-be metal film in the transistor forming region101R as shown in respective portions (d) of FIGS. 10A and 10B. Thesource and drain electrodes 11 s and 11 d are connected to thesemiconductor layer 7 a inside the hole 9 p. Meanwhile, the upperconductive layer 11 c is formed inside the hole 9 w.

In the S-G connecting portion forming region 103R, an upper conductivelayer 11 sg is formed on a portion of the gate insulating layer 5 whichhas been exposed through the hole 9 r. Another portion of the gateinsulating layer 5 which is not covered with the upper conductive layer11 sg remains exposed.

In the terminal portion forming region 102R, the source-line-to-be metalfilm is removed.

In this etching process step (i.e., the source/drain separating processstep), the protective layer 9 covers the semiconductor layers 7 a, 7 tand functions as a barrier layer, and therefore, the damage to be doneon the semiconductor layers 7 a, 7 t through the etching process can bereduced.

The material of the source-line-to-be metal film is not particularlylimited. But a film made of a material selected from the groupconsisting of metals aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo),tantalum (Ta), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), and titanium (Ti), theiralloys, and their metal nitrides may be used appropriately. In thisexample, a stack of a lower Ti layer (with a thickness of 30 nm) and anupper Cu layer (with a thickness of 300 nm) is used, for example.

STEP 5: Interlevel Insulating Layer Forming Process Step (Shown inRespective Portions (e) of FIGS. 10A and 10B)

Next, as shown in respective portions (e) of FIGS. 10A and 10B, a firstinsulating layer 12 and a second insulating layer 13 are deposited inthis order on the substrate 1. These insulating layers 12 and 13together form an interlevel insulating layer 14. In this embodiment, aninorganic insulating layer (passivation film) is formed by CVD process,for example, as the first insulating layer 12. Next, an organicinsulating layer, for example, is formed as the second insulating layer13 on the first insulating layer 12. And then the second insulatinglayer 13 is patterned, thereby cutting a hole through a portion of thesecond insulating layer 13 which is located over the upper conductivelayer 11 c and another hole through a portion of the second insulatinglayer 13 which is located over the upper and lower conductive layers 11sg and 3 sg. Meanwhile, in the terminal portion forming region 102R, thesecond insulating layer 13 is removed.

Subsequently, using the second insulating layer 13 patterned as a mask,the first insulating layer 12, the gate insulating layer 5 and theprotective layer 9 are etched. As a result, in the transistor formingregion 101R, a portion of the first insulating layer 12 which is notcovered with the second insulating layer 13 is removed. In this manner,a first contact hole CH1 which exposes a portion of the upper conductivelayer 11 c is cut through the first and second insulating layers 12 and13.

In the S-G connecting portion forming region 103R, a portion of thefirst insulating layer 12 which is not covered with the secondinsulating layer 13 and a portion of the gate insulating layer 5 whichis not covered with the upper conductive layer 11 sg are removed (byetching the first insulating layer 12 and the gate insulating layer 5simultaneously). As a result, a hole 14 rA which exposes a portion ofthe lower conductive layer 3 sg and a hole 14 rB which exposes a portionof the upper conductive layer 11 sg are cut through the first and secondinsulating layers 12 and 13. In this example, these holes 14 rA and 14rB are connected together.

In the terminal portion forming region 102R, portions of the protectivelayer 9 and first insulating layer 12 which are located inside the holeof the semiconductor layer 7 t and a portion of the gate insulatinglayer 5 which is not covered with the semiconductor layer 7 t areremoved (by etching the first insulating layer 12, gate insulating layer5 and protective layer 9 simultaneously). That is to say, thesemiconductor layer 7 t functions as an etch stopper when the protectivelayer 9 is etched and also functions as an etching mask when the gateinsulating layer 5 is etched. Since the semiconductor layer 7 t can beused as an etching mask in this manner, there is no need to provideanother mask separately to cut a hole, which is advantageous. As aresult of this process step, a hole 5 q which exposes a portion of thelower conductive layer 3 t is cut through the gate insulating layer 5.These holes 5 q and 7 q together form a second contact hole CH2. On thesidewall of the second contact hole CH2, the side surface of thesemiconductor layer 7 t is aligned with the side surface of the gateinsulating layer 5.

As the first insulating layer 12, a silicon oxide (SiOx) film, a siliconnitride (SiNx) film, a silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy where x>y) film, or asilicon nitride oxide (SiNxOy where x>y) film may be used appropriately.Optionally, an insulating material of any other film quality may also beused. The second insulating layer 13 is suitably a layer made of anorganic material and may be a positive photosensitive resin film, forexample. In this embodiment, an SiO₂ film with a thickness of 200 nm,for example, and a positive photosensitive resin film with a thicknessof 2000 nm, for example, are used as the first and second insulatinglayers 12 and 13, respectively.

It should be noted that the insulating layers 12 and 13 do not alwayshave to be made of these materials. Rather, the materials and etchingconditions of these insulating layers 12 and 13 may be selected so thatwhen the second insulating layer 13 is patterned, the second insulatinglayer 13 can be etched without etching the first insulating layer 12.Therefore, the second insulating layer 13 may be an inorganic insulatinglayer, for example. Also, in the process step of etching the firstinsulating layer 12, gate insulating layer 5 and protective layer 9, thematerials and etching conditions may be selected so that these layerscan be etched but the semiconductor layer 7 t and upper conductive layer11 sg are not etched.

STEP 6: First Transparent Conductive Layer Forming Process Step (Shownin Respective Portions (f) of FIGS. 10A and 10B)

Next, a transparent conductive film (not shown) is deposited on thesecond insulating layer 13, inside the contact holes CH1 and CH2 andinside the holes 14 rA and 14 rB by sputtering process, for example, andthen patterned by known photolithographic process, for instance.

As shown in respective portions (f) of FIGS. 10A and 10B, in thetransistor forming region 101R, a first transparent conductive layer 15is formed on the second insulating layer 13 by patterning thetransparent conductive film. Also, a drain connected transparentconductive layer 15 a which is electrically isolated from the firsttransparent conductive layer 15 is formed inside the first contact holeCH1, in which the drain connected transparent conductive layer 15 acontacts with the upper conductive layer 11 c. An end portion of thedrain connected transparent conductive layer 15 a may be located on thesecond insulating layer 13.

In the S-G connecting portion forming region 103R, a lower transparentconductive layer 15 sg is formed inside the holes 14 rA and 14 rB bypatterning the transparent conductive film. The lower transparentconductive layer 15 sg contacts with the lower conductive layer 3 sginside the hole 14 rA and also contacts with the upper conductive layer11 sg inside the hole 14 rB. An end portion of the lower transparentconductive layer 15 sg may be located on the second insulating layer 13.

In the terminal portion forming region 102R, a lower transparentconnecting layer 15 t is formed inside the second contact hole CH2 andon a portion of the semiconductor layer 7 t by patterning thetransparent conductive film. The lower transparent connecting layer 15 tcontacts with the lower conductive layer 3 t inside the second contacthole CH2.

According to this embodiment, while the lower transparent connectinglayer 15 t is patterned, the semiconductor layer 7 t is also patternedsimultaneously. If portions of the semiconductor layer 7 t which contactwith the respective lower transparent connecting layers 15 t of adjacentones of multiple terminal portions being formed on the substrate 1 wereconnected together, then those terminal portions might be electricallyconductive with each other. However, if the semiconductor layer 7 t ispatterned along with the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t as isdone in this embodiment, the pattern elements of the semiconductor layer7 t of respective terminal portions can be separated from each other,which is advantageous. If the lower transparent connecting layer 15 tand semiconductor layer 7 t are patterned by dry etching, the endportion of the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t and the endportion of the semiconductor layer 7 t (i.e., an end portion oppositefrom the second contact hole CH2) are aligned with each other whenviewed along a normal to the substrate 1. On the other hand, if thoselayers are patterned by wet etching, then the side surface of that endportion of the semiconductor layer 7 t may have an inversely taperedshape which slopes from the end portion of the lower transparentconnecting layer 15 t toward the second contact hole CH2 in a crosssection which intersects with the substrate 1 at right angles. As can beseen, if the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t and thesemiconductor layer 7 t are patterned simultaneously, the semiconductorlayer 7 t can be left between the lower transparent connecting layer 15t and the gate insulating layer 5 only around the second contact holeCH2 (i.e., in a fringe portion) without increasing the number ofmanufacturing process steps. Consequently, it is possible to preventthose terminal portions from getting electrically conductive with eachother unintentionally while ensuring reliability for those terminalportions.

Optionally, the first transparent conductive layer 15 may be formed soas to cover each pixel almost entirely but the contact portion 105.

As the transparent conductive film to make the first transparentconductive layer 15, the drain connected transparent conductive layer 15a, the lower transparent conductive layer 15 sg and the lowertransparent connecting layer 15 t, an ITO (indium tin oxide) film (witha thickness of 50 nm to 200 nm), an IZO film or a ZnO (zinc oxide) filmmay be used, for example. In this example, an ITO film with a thicknessof 100 nm, for example, is used as the transparent conductive film.

STEP 7: Dielectric Layer Forming Process Step (Shown in RespectivePortions (g) of FIGS. 11A and 11B)

Next, a dielectric layer 17 is deposited over the entire surface of thesubstrate 1 by CVD process, for example. Subsequently, a resist mask(not shown) is formed on the dielectric layer 17 to etch the dielectriclayer 17.

As a result, as shown in respective portions (g) of FIGS. 11A and 11B,in the transistor forming region 101R, a hole which exposes the drainconnected transparent conductive layer 15 a is cut through thedielectric layer 17. Although the hole 17 p is arranged in this exampleto expose the drain connected transparent conductive layer 15 apartially at the bottom of the first contact hole CH1, the location ofthe hole 17 p is not particularly limited.

In the S-G connecting portion forming region 103R, a hole 17 r whichexposes the lower transparent conductive layer 15 sg is cut through thedielectric layer 17. In this example, the hole 17 r has been cut so thatportions of the lower transparent conductive layer 15 sg which arelocated inside the holes 14 rA and 14 rB are exposed entirely.

In the terminal portion forming region 102R, the dielectric layer 17 isremoved.

The material of the dielectric layer 17 is not particularly limited. Butas the dielectric layer 17, a silicon oxide (SiOx) film, a siliconnitride (SiNx) film, a silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy where x>y) film, or asilicon nitride oxide (SiNxOy where x>y) film may be used appropriately,for example. Since the dielectric layer 17 is used as a capacitiveinsulating film to form a storage capacitor in this embodiment, thematerial and thickness of the dielectric layer 17 are suitably selectedappropriately so as to obtain a predetermined capacitance C_(cs). As thematerial of the dielectric layer 17, SiNx is suitably used in view ofits dielectric constant and electrical insulating property. Thedielectric layer 17 may have a thickness of 150 nm to 400 nm, forexample. If the dielectric layer 17 has a thickness of at least 150 nm,electrical insulation can be achieved with more certainty. On the otherhand, if the dielectric layer 17 has a thickness of 400 nm or less, thenthe predetermined capacitance can be obtained with more certainty. Inthis embodiment, an SiNx film with a thickness of 300 nm, for example,is used as the dielectric layer 17.

STEP 8: Second Transparent Conductive Layer Forming Process Step (Shownin Respective Portions (h) of FIGS. 11A and 11B)

Subsequently, a transparent conductive film (not shown) is deposited bysputtering process, for example, over the dielectric layer 17, insidethe holes 17 p and 17 r and inside the second contact hole CH2 and thenpatterned by known photolithographic process, for example.

As a result, as shown in respective portions (h) of FIGS. 11A and 11B, asecond transparent conductive layer 19 a is formed in the transistorforming region 101R. The second transparent conductive layer 19 acontacts with the drain connected transparent conductive layer 15 ainside the hole 17 p. In this manner, the second transparent conductivelayer 19 a and the drain electrode 11 d can be electrically connectedtogether via the drain connected transparent conductive layer 15 a andthe upper conductive layer 11 c. Also, at least a part of the secondtransparent conductive layer 19 a is arranged so as to overlap with thefirst transparent conductive layer 15 with the dielectric layer 17interposed between them. In this embodiment, the second transparentconductive layer 19 a functions as a pixel electrode in an FFS modedisplay device. In that case, a plurality of slits may be cut in eachpixel through a portion of the second transparent conductive layer 19 awhich does not overlap with the gate line 3.

In the S-G connecting portion forming region 103R, an upper transparentconductive layer 19 sg which contacts with the lower transparentconductive layer 15 sg in the hole 17 r is formed out of the transparentconductive film. As a result, the lower and upper conductive layers 3 sgand 11 sg can be connected together via the lower and upper transparentconductive layers 15 sg and 19 sg. In addition, since a redundantstructure can be obtained by stacking the lower and upper transparentconductive layers 15 sg and 19 sg one upon the other inside the holes 14rA and 14 rB, highly reliable connecting portions are realized.

In the terminal portion forming region 102R, an upper transparentconnecting layer 19 t for the terminal portion 102 is formed out of thetransparent conductive film. The upper transparent connecting layer 19 tcontacts with the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t inside thesecond contact hole CH2. In this manner, the lower conductive layer 3 tand the upper transparent connecting layer 19 t can be connectedtogether via the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t. In addition,since a redundant structure can be obtained by stacking the lowertransparent connecting layer 15 t and the upper transparent connectinglayer 19 t one upon the other, highly reliable terminal portions arerealized.

As the transparent conductive film to make the second transparentconductive layer 19 a and the upper transparent connecting layers 19 sgand 19 t, an ITO (indium tin oxide) film (with a thickness of 50 nm to150 nm), an IZO film or a ZnO (zinc oxide) film, for example, may beused. In this example, an ITO film with a thickness of 100 nm, forexample, is used as the transparent conductive film.

Although the protective layer is provided in this embodiment between thegate insulating layer 5 and the interlevel insulating layer 14 in almostthe entire display area, the protective layer is removed in the terminalportion forming region 102R. In the process step of forming the terminalportions, however, a protective layer is used to minimize the processdamage to be done on the semiconductor layer 7 t.

In the foregoing description, it has been described how to make theterminal portion 102 shown in FIG. 2( b) and the TFT 101 and contactportion 105(3) shown in FIG. 4. However, even when the terminal portion102(2) shown in FIG. 2( c), the contact portion 105(1) shown in FIG. 3,and the contact portion 105(2) shown in FIG. 4 need to be made instead,those portions can also be made following the flow shown in FIG. 8.

Embodiment 2

Hereinafter, a second embodiment of a semiconductor device according tothe present invention will be described.

In the first embodiment described above, in the S-G connecting portion103, the upper conductive layer 11 sg which has been formed out of thesource-line-to-be metal and the lower conductive layer 3 sg which hasbeen formed out of the gate-line-to-be metal are electrically connectedtogether via the transparent conductive layers 15 and 19 a. In thisembodiment, however, a structure in which the upper and lower conductivelayers 11 sg and 3 sg are brought into direct contact with each other isadopted. In addition, in this embodiment, the drain connectedtransparent conductive layer 15 a is not formed in the contact portion105 to make the second transparent conductive layer 19 a and the upperconductive layer 11 c contact directly with each other, which is anotherdifference from the first embodiment. The contact portion 105 isprovided on the lower conductive layer 3 c which functions as a storagecapacitor line. Furthermore, when a terminal portion is formed, a hole 7q is cut through the semiconductor layer 7 t using the protective layer9 as an etching mask, which is still another difference from themanufacturing process that has already been described for the firstembodiment.

Portions (a) through (p) of FIGS. 12 to 15 are cross-sectional viewsillustrating an exemplary series of manufacturing process steps tofabricate a semiconductor device according to this embodiment. In FIGS.12 to 15, any component having substantially the same function as itscounterpart shown in FIGS. 9B to 11B is identified by the same referencenumeral. In the following description, the same process steps as thoseof the first embodiment (in terms of the material of each component, howto form a film, how to etch the film, and how thick the film is, forexample) will not be described all over again.

First of all, as shown in portion (a) of FIG. 12, a gate-line-to-bemetal 3′ is deposited on a substrate 1. Next, as shown in portion (b) ofFIG. 12, the gate-line-to-be metal 3′ is patterned to obtain a gate linelayer. Specifically, a gate electrode 3 a and a lower conductive layer 3c are formed in the transistor forming region 101R. The lower conductivelayer 3 c may be a storage capacitor line. Lower conductive layers 3 sgand 3 t are formed in the S-G connecting portion forming region 103R andin the terminal portion forming region 102R, respectively.

Next, as shown in portion (c) of FIG. 12, a gate insulating layer 5 isformed to cover the gate electrode 3 a and the lower conductive layers 3c, 3 sg and 3 t.

Thereafter, as shown in portion (d) of FIG. 12, a semiconductor film 7′is deposited on the gate insulating layer 5 and then patterned. In thismanner, semiconductor layers 7 a and 7 c are formed in the transistorforming region 101R and a semiconductor layer 7 t is formed in theterminal portion forming region 102R as shown in portion (e) of FIG. 12.The semiconductor layer 7 a is arranged so as to partially overlap withthe gate electrode 3 a. The semiconductor layer 7 c is arranged tooverlap with the lower conductive layer 3 c in a region where a contactportion and a storage capacitor will be formed. And the semiconductorlayer 7 t is arranged so as to partially overlap with the lowerconductive layer 3 t.

Next, as shown in portion (f) of FIG. 13, a protective layer 9 is formedto cover the gate insulating layer 5 and the semiconductor layers 7 a, 7c and 7 t. Subsequently, as shown in portion (g) of FIG. 13, a masklayer 31 with predetermined holes is formed on the protective layer 9.And using this mask layer 31 as an etching mask, the protective layer 9is patterned. In this process step, portions of the gate insulatinglayer 5 which are covered with neither the mask layer 31 nor any of thesemiconductor layers 7 a, 7 c and 7 t are also removed (by etching theprotective layer 9 and the gate insulating layer 5 simultaneously). As aresult, as shown in portion (h) of FIG. 13, in the transistor formingregion 101R, a hole 9 p which exposes portions of the semiconductorlayer 7 a on the right- and left-hand sides of its portion to be achannel region is cut through the protective layer 9. In the S-Gconnecting portion forming region 103R, the protective layer 9 and thegate insulating layer 5 are etched to make a hole 9 r which exposes aportion of the lower conductive layer 3 sg. And in the terminal portionforming region 102R, a hole 9 q is made to expose a portion of thesemiconductor layer 7 t.

Next, as shown in portion (i) of FIG. 13, a source-line-to-be metal film11′ is deposited over the entire surface of the substrate 1, and thenpatterned. As a result, as shown in portion (j) of FIG. 14, in thetransistor forming region 101R, source and drain electrodes 11 s, 11 dwhich contact with the semiconductor layer 7 a inside the hole 9 p areformed and a TFT 101 is obtained. In addition, an upper conductive layer11 c is formed over the lower conductive layer 3 c with the gateinsulating layer 5 and the semiconductor layer 7 c interposed betweenthem. In the S-G connecting portion forming region 103R, an upperconductive layer 11 sg is formed to contact with the lower conductivelayer 3 sg inside the hole 9 r. In this manner, an S-G connectingportion 103(2) is obtained. In the terminal portion forming region 102R,not only the source-line-to-be metal film 11′ but also the semiconductorlayer 7 t are etched as well. In this case, the protective layer 9functions as an etch stop layer while the source-line-to-be metal film11′ is being etched, and also functions as an etching mask while thesemiconductor layer 7 t is being etched. Consequently, only a portion ofthe semiconductor layer 7 t which is not covered with the protectivelayer 9 is removed and its portion covered with the protective layer 9is left.

Subsequently, as shown in portion (k) of FIG. 14, a first insulatinglayer 12 is deposited over the entire surface of the substrate 1 andthen patterned along with the protective layer 9. In this manner,portions of the first insulating layer 12 and protective layer 9 whichare located in the terminal portion forming region 102R are removed.After that, a second insulating layer 13 is formed and then patterned.In this manner, a hole 13 p is cut through the second insulating layer13 over the upper conductive layer 11 c and a portion of the secondinsulating layer 13 which is located in the terminal portion formingregion 102R is removed.

Next, a transparent conductive film is deposited over the entire surfaceof the substrate 1 and then patterned. In this manner, a firsttransparent conductive layer 15 is formed on the second insulating layer13 in the transistor forming region 101R and in the S-G connectingportion forming region 103R. The first transparent conductive layer 15has a hole 15 p in its portion to be a contact portion. When viewedalong a normal to the substrate 1, the hole 13 p of the secondinsulating layer 13 is located inside of the hole 15 p of the firsttransparent conductive layer 15. Meanwhile, in the terminal portionforming region 102R, when the transparent conductive film is patterned,the semiconductor layer 7 t is also etched simultaneously. As a result,a lower transparent connecting layer 15 t is formed to contact with thelower conductive layer 3 t inside the hole 5 q, and the semiconductorlayer 7 t is divided into multiple portions for respective terminalportions. In each of those terminal portions, the semiconductor layer 7t is located between the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t and thegate insulating layer 5, and its end portion opposite from the hole isaligned with the end portion of the lower transparent connecting layer15 t.

Thereafter, as shown in portion (m) of FIG. 14, a dielectric layer 17 isdeposited over the entire surface of the substrate 1 (as well as insidethe hole 13 p), and then patterned. In this manner, a portion of thedielectric layer 17 which is located in the terminal portion formingregion 102R is removed as shown in portion (n) of FIG. 15. Also, insidethe hole 13 p of the second insulating layer 13, a hole 17 p whichreaches the upper conductive layer 11 c is cut through the dielectriclayer 17 and the first insulating layer (by etching the dielectric layer17 and the first insulating layer 12 simultaneously).

Subsequently, as shown in portion (o) of FIG. 15, a transparentconductive film 19′ is deposited over the entire surface of thesubstrate 1 (as well as inside the hole 17 p), and then patterned. Inthis manner, a second transparent conductive layer 19 a to be pixelelectrodes is formed in the transistor forming region 101R and in theS-G connecting portion forming region 103R as shown in portion (p) ofFIG. 15. The second transparent conductive layer 19 a contacts with theupper conductive layer 11 c inside the hole 17 p to form a contactportion 105(4). In the terminal portion forming region 102R, an uppertransparent connecting layer 19 t is formed to contact with the lowertransparent connecting layer 15 t. In this manner, a terminal portion102(2) is obtained.

According to this embodiment, a highly reliable terminal portion 102 canbe formed as easily as in the first embodiment described above. Inaddition, according to this embodiment, since the dielectric layer 17can be formed with the surface of the upper conductive layer 11 c coatedwith the first insulating layer 12 in the process step of forming acontact portion and a storage capacitor, the process damage to be doneon the upper conductive layer 11 c can be reduced. Furthermore, sincethe S-G connecting portion 103(2) has a structure in which the sourceline layer and the gate line layer directly contact with each other, itssize and resistance can be reduced.

Embodiment 3

Hereinafter, a third embodiment of a semiconductor device according tothe present invention will be described. In this third embodiment, adielectric layer is provided in the vicinity of (or around) a contacthole of the terminal portion, which is a difference from the firstembodiment described above. Since the TFT and the S-G connecting portionhave the same structure as their counterparts of the first embodiment,description thereof will be omitted herein.

FIGS. 16( a) and 16(b) are respectively a plan view and across-sectional view illustrating a terminal portion 202 which has beenformed in the peripheral area of a TFT substrate. In FIG. 16, anycomponent having substantially the same function as its counterpartshown in FIG. 2 is identified by the same reference numeral. Also, eventhough two adjacent terminals are shown in FIG. 16( b), the number ofterminals is not particularly limited.

In this terminal portion 202, a dielectric layer 17 t has been formedbetween the lower and upper transparent connecting layers 15 t and 19 taround the contact hole CH unlike the terminal portion 102 shown in FIG.2. In this terminal portion 202, electrical connection between the uppertransparent connecting layer 19 t and the lower conductive layer 3 t isestablished via the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t.

In this embodiment, the lower conductive layer 3 t has also been formedout of the same conductive film as the gate line 3, for example, as inthe first embodiment. Also, the semiconductor layer 7 t has been formedout of the same semiconductor film as the semiconductor layer 7 a thatis the active layer of the TFT 101. Furthermore, the dielectric layer 17t has also been formed out of the same dielectric film as the dielectriclayer 17.

Just like the terminal portion 102 of the first embodiment, the terminalportion 202 also has a redundant structure comprised of the lowertransparent connecting layer 15 t and the upper transparent connectinglayer 19 t, and therefore, a high degree of reliability is ensured. Ifthis embodiment is applied to a TFT substrate for use in an FFS modedisplay device, the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t is suitablyformed out of the same transparent conductive film as the commonelectrode, and the upper transparent connecting layer 19 t is suitablyformed out of the same conductive film as the pixel electrodes. By usingsuch a pair of electrode layers to be the common electrode and the pixelelectrodes, a terminal portion 202 with the redundant structure can beformed with an increase in the number of manufacturing process steps orthe number of masks to use checked.

When viewed along a normal to the substrate 1, the semiconductor layer 7t, the dielectric layer 17 t, and the upper and lower transparentconnecting layers 19 t, 15 t suitably overlap with each other. Also, thedielectric layer 17 t suitably contacts with not only the upper surfaceof the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t but also the uppersurface of the gate insulating layer 5 as well. As a result, since thedielectric layer 17 is arranged so as to cover the side surface of thelower transparent connecting layer 15 t and the side surface of thesemiconductor layer 7 t opposite from the contact hole CH, the processdamage to be done on the semiconductor layer 7 t can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 16, the end portion of the semiconductor layer 7 twhich faces the hole 7 q may be aligned with the side surface of thegate insulating layer 5 which faces the hole 5 q. Such a configurationcan be obtained by cutting the hole 5 q through the gate insulatinglayer 5 using the semiconductor layer 7 t as an etching mask in themanufacturing process to be described later. Meanwhile, the side surfaceof the semiconductor layer 7 t opposite from the hole 7 q may be alignedwith the side surface of the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t.Such a configuration can be obtained by etching the semiconductor layer7 t and the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t simultaneously inthe manufacturing process to be described later.

Hereinafter, an exemplary method for fabricating the semiconductordevice of this embodiment will be described. In the example to bedescribed below, it will be described how to make the TFTs 101 andcontact portion 105(3) shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the terminal portions202 shown in FIG. 16, and the S-G connecting portions 103 shown in FIGS.6A and 6B on the substrate 1 simultaneously. It should be noted that themanufacturing process of this embodiment is not limited to the exemplaryone to be described below. Also, the respective configurations of theTFTs 101, contact portions 105, terminal portions 102, and S-Gconnecting portions 103 are appropriately changeable, too.

The semiconductor device of this embodiment may also be fabricatedfollowing the flow shown in FIG. 8. Since STEPS through 6 are the sameas the process steps that have already been described with reference toFIGS. 9A, 9B and FIGS. 10A, 10B, description thereof will be omittedherein. FIGS. 17( a) and 17(b) are cross-sectional views illustratingSTEPS 7 and 8, respectively.

STEPS 1 Through 6: Transistor Forming Process Steps (not Shown)

First of all, as in the process steps shown in FIGS. 9A, 9B and FIGS.10A, 10B, a gate line, a semiconductor layer, a protective layer, sourceand drain, an interlevel insulating layer, and a first transparentconductive layer are formed on the substrate 1.

STEP 7: Dielectric Layer Forming Process Step (FIG. 17( a))

Next, a dielectric layer 17 is deposited by CVD process, for example,over the entire surface of the substrate 1. Thereafter, a resist mask(not shown) is formed on the dielectric layer 17 to etch the dielectriclayer 17. As a result, as shown in FIG. 17( a), a hole 17 p whichexposes the drain connected transparent conductive layer 15 a is cutthrough the dielectric layer 17 in the transistor forming region 101R.Meanwhile, in the S-G connecting portion forming region 103R, a hole 17r which exposes the lower transparent conductive layer 15 sg is cutthrough the dielectric layer 17. In this example, the hole 17 r is cutso that portions of the lower transparent conductive layer 15 sg whichare located inside the holes 14 rA and 14 rB are exposed entirely. Andin the terminal portion forming region 102R, the dielectric layer 17 isformed in the vicinity of (or around) the second contact hole CH2 and onthe lower transparent connecting layer 15 t. The dielectric layer 17 tis arranged to overlap with at least a portion of the semiconductorlayer 7 t when viewed along a normal to the substrate 1.

STEP 8: Second Transparent Conductive Layer Forming Process Step (FIG.17( b))

Next, a transparent conductive film (not shown) is formed by sputteringprocess, for example, on the dielectric layer 17 and inside the holes 17p, 17 r and the second contact hole CH2 and then patterned. In thismanner, a second transparent conductive layer 19 a is formed in thetransistor forming region 101R as shown in FIG. 17( b). Meanwhile, inthe S-G connecting portion forming region 103R, an upper transparentconductive layer 19 sg which contacts with the lower transparentconductive layer 15 sg inside the hole 17 r is obtained. And in theterminal portion forming region 102R, the upper transparent connectinglayer 19 t of the terminal portion 102 is formed out of the transparentconductive film. The upper transparent connecting layer 19 t contactswith the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t inside the secondcontact hole CH2. At least a portion of the dielectric layer is locatedbetween the upper and lower transparent connecting layers 19 t and 15 t.Optionally, the end portion of the upper transparent connecting layer 19t may be located on the dielectric layer 17 t as shown in FIG. 17( b).Alternatively, the end portion of the upper transparent connecting layer19 t may also be located on the gate insulating layer 5 and may coverthe entire upper surface of the dielectric layer 17 t and the sidesurface of the dielectric layer 17 t opposite from the second contacthole CH2 as shown in FIG. 16( b).

Embodiment 4

Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of a semiconductor device according tothe present invention will be described. A TFT and S-G connectingportion according to this fourth embodiment have the same configurationas their counterparts of the second embodiment described above. But aterminal portion according to this fourth embodiment has the samestructure as its counterpart of the third embodiment. Thus, theconfiguration of the semiconductor device of this embodiment will not bedescribed.

Hereinafter, an exemplary method for fabricating a semiconductor deviceaccording to this embodiment will be described. FIGS. 18( a) through18(c) are cross-sectional views illustrating respective manufacturingprocess steps to fabricate the semiconductor device of this embodiment.

First of all, the manufacturing process is advanced to the process stepof forming the dielectric layer 17 in the same way as the process thathas already been described with reference to FIGS. 13 through 15.

Next, as shown in FIG. 18( a), the dielectric layer is patterned. As aresult, in the transistor forming region 101R, a hole 17 p which reachesthe upper conductive layer 11 c is cut through the dielectric layer 17and the first insulating layer 12. Meanwhile, in the terminal portionforming region 102R, the dielectric layer 17 is formed so as to coverpartially the lower transparent connecting layer 15 t in the vicinity ofthe second contact hole CH2. The dielectric layer 17 t is arranged so asto overlap at least a portion of the semiconductor layer 7 t when viewedalong a normal to the substrate 1.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 18( b), a transparent conductive film 19′is deposited over the entire surface of the substrate 1 and thenpatterned. As a result, in the transistor forming region 101R, a secondtransparent conductive layer 19 a is formed as shown in FIG. 18( c).Meanwhile, in the terminal portion forming region 102R, the uppertransparent connecting layer 19 t of the terminal portion 102 is formedout of the transparent conductive film 19′. The upper transparentconnecting layer 19 t contacts with the lower transparent connectinglayer 15 t inside the second contact hole CH2 and also contacts with thedielectric layer 17 t in the vicinity of the second contact hole CH2. Inthis example, the upper transparent connecting layer 19 t has beenformed to cover the dielectric layer 17 t entirely and its end portioncontacts with the gate insulating layer 5. Optionally, the end portionof the upper transparent connecting layer 19 t may be located on thedielectric layer 17 t.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Embodiments of the present invention are broadly applicable to anysemiconductor device including a thin-film transistor and twotransparent conductive layers on a substrate. Among other things,embodiments of the present invention are particularly effectivelyapplicable to a semiconductor device including a thin-film transistor(such as an active-matrix substrate) and a display device including sucha semiconductor device.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 substrate-   3, G gate line-   3 a gate electrode-   3 c lower conductive layer-   3 t, 3 sg lower conductive layer-   5 gate insulating layer-   7 a, 7 c, 7 t semiconductor layer-   9 protective layer-   11, S source line-   11 s source electrode-   11 d drain electrode-   11 t, 11 sg upper conductive layer-   12 first insulating layer-   13 second insulating layer-   14 interlevel insulating layer-   15 first transparent conductive layer-   15 a drain connected transparent conductive layer-   15 t lower transparent connecting layer-   17, 17 t dielectric layer-   19 a second transparent conductive layer-   19 t upper transparent connecting layer-   100 semiconductor device-   101 TFT-   102, 202 terminal portion-   103 S-G connecting portion-   105 contact portion-   1000 liquid crystal display device

1. A semiconductor device comprising a substrate and a thin-filmtransistor, a gate line layer, a source line layer and a terminalportion supported on the substrate, the gate line layer including a gateline, a gate electrode for the thin-film transistor, and a lowerconductive layer for the terminal portion, the source line layerincluding a source line and source and drain electrodes for thethin-film transistor, the thin-film transistor including the gateelectrode, a gate insulating layer formed on the gate electrode, a firstsemiconductor layer which is formed on the gate insulating layer andwhich includes an oxide semiconductor, a protective layer which coversat least a channel region of the first semiconductor layer, the sourceelectrode, and the drain electrode, wherein the semiconductor devicefurther includes: an interlevel insulating layer which is formed on thesource and drain electrodes and which includes a first insulating layerthat contacts with at least a surface of the drain electrode; a firsttransparent conductive layer formed on the interlevel insulating layer;a first dielectric layer formed on the first transparent conductivelayer; and a second transparent conductive layer formed on the firstdielectric layer so as to overlap with at least a portion of the firsttransparent conductive layer with the first dielectric layer interposedbetween them, the terminal portion includes: the lower conductive layer;the gate insulating layer extended onto the lower conductive layer; asecond semiconductor layer arranged on the gate insulating layer andformed out of the same semiconductor film as the first semiconductorlayer; a lower transparent connecting layer formed out of the sameconductive film as the first transparent conductive layer; and an uppertransparent connecting layer arranged on the lower transparentconnecting layer and formed out of the same conductive film as thesecond transparent conductive layer, the gate insulating layer and thesecond semiconductor layer have a contact hole, and side surfaces of thegate insulating layer and the second semiconductor layer which locate ona side of the contact hole are aligned with each other, the lowertransparent connecting layer is formed inside the contact hole and onthe second semiconductor layer and contacts with the lower conductivelayer in the contact hole, and the upper transparent connecting layercontacts with the lower transparent connecting layer at the bottom andon the sidewall of the contact hole.
 2. The semiconductor device ofclaim 1, wherein a side surface of the lower transparent connectinglayer is aligned with another side surface of the second semiconductorlayer on an opposite side of the contact hole.
 3. The semiconductordevice of claim 1, wherein an end portion of the upper transparentconnecting layer is located on the lower transparent connecting layer.4. The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the upper transparentconnecting layer covers another side surface of the second semiconductorlayer on an opposite side of the contact hole.
 5. The semiconductordevice of claim 1, further comprising a second dielectric layer betweenthe upper and lower transparent connecting layers, the second dielectriclayer being formed out of the same dielectric film as the firstdielectric layer.
 6. The semiconductor device of claim 5, wherein thesecond dielectric layer covers another side surface of the secondsemiconductor layer on an opposite side of the contact hole.
 7. Adisplay device comprising: the semiconductor device of claim 1; acounter substrate arranged so as to face the semiconductor device; and aliquid crystal layer interposed between the counter substrate and thesemiconductor device, wherein the display device includes a plurality ofpixels arranged in a matrix pattern, and the second transparentconductive layer is divided into multiple portions which are allocatedto the respective pixels and which function as pixel electrodes.
 8. Thedisplay device of claim 7, wherein the second transparent conductivelayer has a plurality of slit holes in each said pixel, and the firsttransparent conductive layer is located at least under the plurality ofholes and functions as a common electrode.
 9. A method for fabricating asemiconductor device including a thin-film transistor and a terminalportion, the method comprising the steps of: (a) forming a lowerconductive layer and a gate line layer including a gate line and gateelectrode on a substrate; (b) forming a gate insulating layer to coverthe gate line layer; (c) forming an oxide semiconductor film on the gateinsulating layer and patterning the oxide semiconductor film, therebyforming a first semiconductor layer, at least a part of which overlapswith the gate electrode, and a second semiconductor layer which has afirst hole over the lower conductive layer; (d) forming a protectivelayer to cover at least a portion of the first semiconductor layer to bea channel region and the upper surface of the second semiconductorlayer; (e) forming a conductive film over a surface of the substratehaving the protective layer formed thereon and patterning the conductivefilm, thereby forming a source line layer including source and drainelectrodes that contact with the first semiconductor layer; (f) forminga first insulating film on the surface of the substrate having thesource line layer formed thereon and etching the first insulating film,the gate insulating layer and the protective layer simultaneously, thestep (f) including removing a portion of the protective layer located onthe second semiconductor layer and removing the first insulating filmand the gate insulating layer using the second semiconductor layer as anetching mask to expose the lower conductive layer, thereby forming acontact hole in the second semiconductor layer and the gate insulatinglayer; (g) forming a lower transparent connecting layer inside thecontact hole and on the second semiconductor layer so that the lowertransparent connecting layer contacts with the lower conductive layerinside the contact hole; and (h) forming an upper transparent connectinglayer on the lower transparent connecting layer so that the uppertransparent connecting layer contacts with the lower transparentconnecting layer at the bottom and on the side surface of the contacthole.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step (g) includes the stepsof forming a transparent conductive film inside the contact hole and onthe second semiconductor layer and etching the transparent conductivefilm and the second semiconductor layer simultaneously.
 11. The methodof claim 9 or 10, further comprising, between the steps (g) and (f), thestep of forming a dielectric layer on a portion of the lower transparentconductive layer, wherein in the step (f), the upper transparentconnecting layer is formed so as to contact with the lower transparentconductive layer and the dielectric layer.
 12. A semiconductor devicecomprising a substrate and a terminal portion supported on thesubstrate, wherein the terminal portion includes: a lower conductivelayer formed on the substrate; an insulating layer which covers thelower conductive layer; a semiconductor layer which is formed on theinsulating layer and which includes an oxide semiconductor; a lowertransparent connecting layer; and an upper transparent connecting layerarranged as a transparent layer on the lower transparent connectinglayer, the insulating layer and the semiconductor layer have a contacthole, the respective side surfaces of the insulating layer and thesemiconductor layer which locate on a side of the contact hole arealigned with each other, the lower transparent connecting layer isformed inside the contact hole and on the semiconductor layer andcontacts with the lower conductive layer inside the contact hole, andthe upper transparent connecting layer contacts with the lowertransparent connecting layer at the bottom and on the sidewall of thecontact hole.
 13. A method for fabricating a semiconductor deviceincluding a terminal portion, the method comprising the steps of: (A)forming a lower conductive layer on a substrate; (B) forming aninsulating layer to cover the lower conductive layer; (C) forming, onthe insulating layer, a semiconductor layer which has a first hole overthe lower conductive layer and which includes an oxide semiconductor;(D) forming a protective layer which covers the semiconductor layer; (E)forming a first insulating film on the protective layer and inside thefirst hole; (F) etching the first insulating film, the insulating layerand the protective layer simultaneously, the step (F) including exposinga part of the lower conductive layer by removing the protective layerand removing the first insulating film and the insulating layer usingthe semiconductor layer as an etching mask, thereby forming a contacthole in the insulating layer and the semiconductor layer; (G) forming alower transparent connecting layer inside the contact hole and on thesemiconductor layer so that the lower transparent connecting layercontacts with the lower conductive layer inside the contact hole; and(H) forming an upper transparent connecting layer on the lowertransparent connecting layer so that the upper transparent connectinglayer contacts with the lower transparent connecting layer at the bottomand on the side surface of the contact hole.
 14. The semiconductordevice of claim 1, wherein the oxide semiconductor includes anIn—Ga—Zn—O-based semiconductor.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein theoxide semiconductor includes an In—Ga—Zn—O-based semiconductor.